


Shared (Rewritten Version)

by NukeRose



Series: Shared [1]
Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-04-18 13:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4707614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NukeRose/pseuds/NukeRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU after Season 2 Finale: Connor comforts Jude after the car crash during the season 2 finale, and its aftermath. How will the young couple cope with the loss of Jesus and its affect on Jude, and how will their futures play out when they befriend a foreign transfer student with a troubled past?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hospital Conversation

Connor's POV:

One more day.

That's all the doctors said they are keeping me. I don't know whether to be excited or terrified. Personally, I think I'm feeling a large quantity of both emotions. Things are finally starting to look up for me though. It took long enough, that's for sure.

It all started when I got shot. Laying in the hospital bed being badgered by my over controlling father about the reasons for sneaking out. In a moment of irritation induced courage, I screamed at him that I had snuck out solely to see Jude instead of my girlfriend Daria. I had finally came out to dad, something I should have done months ago after a certain tent incident. Then I came out to Daria. Then I broke up with Daria, who proceeded to stomp from the room after a shouting match that involved her calling me a litany of slurs, and me screaming back at her with all my pent up rage and frustration. The I borrowed Taylor's phone during her visit and I came out to Jude via a text message conversation. Then I started dating Jude after he stood up to my father and demanded entrance to see me. All of this occurred in the space of about thirty hours.

I'm surprised I don't have whiplash, to be perfectly honest. But then again, I have a bullet hole in my foot, so adding whiplash to the list would probably drive me crazy. Being in a cast on crutches for the next few weeks is already gonna drive me up the wall, a neck brace would probably make me wanna jump out of my bedroom window.

Currently, I lay in the stupid hospital bed, staring dazedly off into space lost in my various thoughts. Jude's face flashes through my mind, bringing a smile to my face. I had known for a while that I had feelings for my best friend that were not platonic bro-feelings. I mean, I could barely look at Jude while he smiles, the wide smile where the his eyes scrunch up without wanting to kiss him or hug him. Being around him, just hearing his laugh, his voice and the occasional bout of sass that he sometimes lets slip makes me happy. Makes me feel safe to be myself, and to be who I was born to be. I knew when we were playing with the Ouija board in Mariana's room that day that I thought of Jude as more than just my best friend.

Yesterday was probably the most important day of my life so far, because it was the day that I finally asked him to be my boyfriend.

Flashback:

I can't believe this shit.

How dare he? How dare my father treat me this way? How dare he keep Jude away from me, like the swine of an old man has any right to control my life. I have been seething for the past two days. I had screamed it at him. I had finally done it. Finally told my dad exactly what he dreaded to hear. Finally told him that his son was gay. Finally told him exactly what I thought of him, although I might regret that later.

I can't help but feel sad and depressed about his attitude at the same time. I mean, he's my father. He's the only parent I have left that is any count, if you don't count my batshit crazy shrew of a mother. He's supposed to love and support me no matter what, but instead he's threatening to pull me from Anchor Beach just to tear apart my budding potential relationship with Jude. It's completely illogical as well. There's only like, four weeks left in the school year? Pulling me out now would mean that I wouldn't pass to the eighth grade, and I would be held back. Just the thought of all the trouble he's going to put me through just to try and force me not to be gay makes me want to push him down a flight of stairs.

The door to the hospital room opened, and I looked away from the television towards the door, where my dad stood looking at me. I gave him a small frown, letting him know that I still was supremely unhappy with him...

But then he stood aside, and there was Jude.

My breath caught in my throat.

No. Freaking. Way.

'Is this really happening right now?' I thought to myself as Jude entered the room, glancing at my dad as he did so.

A smile flickered across my face as my best friend crossed the threshold of the room and walked toward me. Behind him my dad exited the room, sparing the both of us a glance as he exited the room. I pushed myself up in the bed and kept smiling at him as he approached the side of the bed. He smiled back at me as he stood there. He glanced to my foot, and then back to my face. I reached out and took his hand into mine. After a second I noticed that his nails were painted blue, just like they were the day that our friendship truly started.

"What's this?" I asked.

"War paint." Jude said with a nod and a small smirk.

I nodded back as a large grin split my face which he returned with a smile of his own. He looked up at the television with a questioning look, nonverbally asking what I was watching. With a smile, I scooted over and allowed Jude to slide in next to me. Once he was semi comfortable, he leaned his head on my shoulder, and I shivered slightly at the contact.

"I can't believe my dad actually let you in." I said to Jude, whose head rested happily against my shoulder, "He told me that I was never allowed to speak to you again. I screamed at him, and haven't said a word to him since. He's tried talking to me, but every time he does I just put my headphones in and glare at him."

Jude chuckled, but it wasn't his normal laugh that I was used to. It was a dry, humorless laugh that I had rarely heard him use before, on maybe one or two occasions. It almost didn't sound like a laugh that should ever come out of his mouth, and it took me by surprise.

"Don't thank me. Thank Lena. She's the one who talked him into it." Jude said, sitting up. An undertone of scathing dislike painted his features as he glared at the door to the room, beyond which stood my dad.

"What did she say?" I asked curiously.

"She said something about how he could keep me away as long as he could, but then she asked how he was gonna keep all the other boys away as well." Jude said, a note of satisfaction lacing his tone.

"Haha. I bet he just loved that bit." I said, only slightly sarcastic, "Because obviously there will be a line at the front door."

Jude snorted, which was followed by a mischievous giggle.

"Are you kidding? He looked like he was about to cry." He said, laughter in his voice.

I laughed at the thought of my macho homophobic ass of a father at the brink of tears.

"What are you watching?" He asked.

"I have no idea. Some stupid sci-fi movie with terrible special effects." I answered as onscreen, a man was being lowered from an overpass by a harness onto a bus, that was semi submerged in water surrounded by sharks .

"I know what movie this is. It's Sharknado." He said, amusement clear in his voice..

I cringed, and recoiled overdramatically and hurried to change the channel while making as much of a spectacle as I possibly could, causing Jude to snicker.

"I'm guessing you don't like movies like that?" He teased.

"Funnily enough, no I don't like terrible low budget movies with terrible acting, and stupid unrealistic plots that could be improved by a three year old doodling on the script with a purple crayon." I ranted.

He laughed, and I started laughing with him.

"What else is on?" He asked as I started flipping through the limited amount of channels.

"Law and Order SVU?" I asked him.

He flinched and shook his head.

"Yeah, uh, no." He said seriously, "I can't bear to watch that show remember?"

"Oh. Yeah sorry. Forgot about that." I said sheepishly.

Jude couldn't stand watching that show because it reminded him of some of the traumatic experiences he went through as a child.

"S'okay. Glee is on." Jude pointed out.

"I may be gay, but I'm not THAT gay to be honest." I joked to him with a teasing smile, before settling on watching Mythbusters.

He poked me in the shoulder in jest, and sighed.

"I still can hardly believe you did it." He said, "When that text came through, I couldn't even think coherently. I'm proud of you, you know that right? That took a lot of courage."

I turned to him, staring into his eyes. I smiled softly, allowing myself to get lost in the chocolate orbs. How had I resisted this for so long? Being this close to Jude seemed so natural, so right. I raised a hand a stroked his cheek, and I shivered as our skin made contact.

Courage he had said. How was anything I have been doing lately been courageous?

"I'm so sorry, Jude." I said to him. He looked at me funny, as if I'd professed an eternal desire to run away and become a rodeo clown.

"Why are you sorry? You've got nothing to be sorry for…" He says.

"But I do!" I speak up, cutting him off, "I should have done this sooner. It shouldn't have taken a bullet for me to admit it."

"Connor..." He tried to interject, but I kept ranting.

"Ever since I kissed you in the tent I've treated you like shit!" I ranted, "With all my mixed signals, I've been playing with your emotions like a kitten with a ball of yarn! I kissed Daria in front of you, when I knew it was hurting both of us!"

"You handled things the best you could with the situation you were put in." He said.

"I tried to keep our friendship a secret from my dad, when I should've stood up to him!" I ranted, "I've been a shitty friend! I was so confused about these feelings I have. Feelings I've been raised to believe were wrong or unnatural. When I started having them for my best friend, I freaked! Then Daria came in and everything just got so out of hand!"

"CONNOR." Jude said, raising his voice for the first time. "It's okay. I get the confusion. I get the trying to force the feelings away! I get you being afraid of your dad. I get how you were afraid to tell him the truth! I get how you were scared of being different. I used to be too!"

"Are you kidding me? You're never scared of anything! You're the strongest person I know!" I shot back, "I'm the coward. Not you."

"Don't you dare call yourself that!" He scolded, "A coward wouldn't have admitted his mistakes and worked to fix them regardless of the consequences to himself, like you are. And you think I wasn't scared? I was terrified! I woke up this morning, and made the decision to come up here. I was terrified! I put on my nail polish, and walked here. But on the way here I stopped being scared and started getting angry. And I walked up to your father, and I told him I wanted to see you and I wasn't leaving until I did. He said no, so I sat down next to the door and told him I could wait all day. That's when he called Lena, and he made his last mistake. Momma never loses."

I stared into his eyes as he spoke, realizing in the back of my mind that we had both started crying.

"I'm sick of having no control over anything, and I wasn't going to give up my best friend without a fight!" Jude growled, his voice breaking as he finished the sentence.

I grabbed him by the front of the shirt and yanked him into a kiss. He returned it. Hard.

Twenty seconds later we pulled apart, panting from loss of breath.

"Ummm. Uh. That, that was…" Jude cut me off with a kiss of his own. I stared at him in awe. All the times we had kissed before, I had initiated it. This was the first time he had started it. He pulled away. We stared into each other's eyes again.

"Yeah. That definitely was." He agreed, "What does this make us? And what about Daria?"

"Oh. I broke up with her. Wasn't pretty." I told him, leaving out the detail about the slurs she had thrown at me, "Anyway, as for us? I mean... we'll always be best friends. But... I want you to be more than that. I want... I want you to be my boyfriend."

"I'd like that." He said with a small smile before wrapping me in a hug. I lay there, with Jude snuggled into my side and our attention returned to the television.

"So, what are we going to tell people?" Jude asked.

"Well, that's up to you isn't it?" I asked, "How open are you comfortable being?"

"Well, I don't want either of us to be picked on, so maybe we should be careful?" He said, "I'm not saying we should hide it at school. We can still hold hands and stuff, but we shouldn't go making out in the halls or anything like that."

"Then that's what we'll do." I told him. He looked up at me, "We'll save the kissing for when we're alone."

I raised my eyebrows suggestively, causing Jude to start laughing again.

We sat in silence until he had to leave an hour later, just enjoying each other's presence. Before we parted, I planted a kiss right on his lips. I took a large amount of spiteful pleasure in knowing my dad saw it happen.

After the door shut behind Jude, I noticed that my dad was looking at me weirdly.

"What?" I asked snappishly, "Got some more slurs to throw at me?"

Dad sighed.

"I never should have said those things."

"NO. You shouldn't have, but you still did." I said testily, "You didn't tell mom about this, did you?"

"I tried to call her, but she didn't pick up." Dad said, "I left her a message telling her you got shot, but I didn't tell her about your little confession if that's what you're worried about."

"Thanks." I said grudgingly.

Dad sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Look." He started, "This is gonna take me a lot of getting used to. It won't happen overnight, but I'm gonna try. I'm not gonna try to separate you and your little boyfriend again. Just give me time. Okay?"

I nodded.

"That's all I'm asking for, dad." I said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For all those things I said to you right after I dropped the bombshell on you." I said, "I don't really hate you. I just said that, because I thought you would hate me for being gay."

"I said things I shouldn't have said either." Dad said, "I could never hate you Connor. You're my only child. I love you more than anything in the world. Your sexuality isn't something I'm entirely comfortable with, but I still love you. That'll never change."

I reached out to my dad, and I gave him a hug.

"Thanks dad."

End Flashback:

I was snapped out of my memories by loud noises coming from the hallway. I could hear two voices, and I immediately recognized one of them as Jude. The door flew open and Jude ran into the room.

It only took me a fraction of a second to notice he was sobbing. He launched himself into the bed and clung to me like a fly stuck in flypaper. His whole body shook as he sobbed loudly. My eyes rose up to meet my dad, who was standing at the door, looking confused. I felt a spike of fury, and leveled a glare at my old man the likes of which would make most of my classmates defecate in their shorts.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM NOW!?" I roared.

My dad shook his head vigorously, slightly taken aback at my anger.

"I didn't say anything!" He rushed to assure me, "He showed up like this!"

"Jude what's wrong? What happened?" I begged him to answer me, "Jude, tell me. You're scaring me!"

"T-there w-w-was an accident." He sobbed and hiccoughed, "J-jesus is d-d-DEAD!"

He broke down completely as he clung to me. My jaw dropped.

Jesus?

Dead?

Those two words just didn't make sense spoken aloud together. It couldn't be possible.

I wrapped my arms around him, as his sobs racked his body violently. I could feel my heart breaking, and I started crying with him.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"T-they were on the way h-h-home from Mari's dance thing." He rushed out hysterically, "They went through an intersection. They got broadsided. MY BROTHER IS DEAD!"

Jude's sobs increased in intensity, and I hugged him tighter

If Jude had to feel this pain, then I would feel it too. If he had to feel this grief, I would share it.

Our pain is shared. It always will be.

Always.


	2. Grief

Connor's POV:

Three weeks had passed since that horrible day, where Jude clung to me, sobbing about the death of his brother. It's been two weeks and six days since I was released from the hospital, doomed to a few more weeks of hobbling around on crutches. I already hate the damned things. I can't leave the house without them, they irritate me, and the only time I don't need them is when I'm at home and I have my dad's old cane as a substitute.

It's been three weeks since Jude and I have really said more than a few sentences to anybody but each other. After he cried himself out in the hospital, he slipped back into his selective mutism and stopped talking at all. I could see how much pain he was in, so I stopped talking while he was around, standing by him with silent support that he desperately needed. When he finally uttered his first word, it was after a whole week, and I was the only one to hear it.

"Thank you, Connor." He had said.

"For what?" I had asked.

"Being there." He had responded.

It has been two weeks since Jesus's funeral. It was a miserable affair. Brandon broke down trying to give the small speech he had written. Jude, Brandon, Mariana, Callie, Stef and Lena were all the pall bearers. When the casket was lowered into the ground, Mariana completely lost it. She completely lost it, and tried to climb down in the hole with here twins body. It took Stef, Lena, and Brandon to restrain her, and Brandon ended up with a black eye because Mariana was flailing around and had hit him in the face accidentally.

The whole time, I stood silently in my best clothes, standing sentinel over my sobbing new boyfriend, leaning heavily on a crutch with my arm wrapped tightly around the distraught boy, desperately trying to provide him the silent, new form of comfort that only I could provide as his significant other. Eventually, he had to comfort me, because as everybody was leaving at the end of the funeral, a car backfired. The loud bang triggered a flashback to the night I had been shot, and I had collapsed to the ground in a hysterical mess. After we had calmed down, we both decided that we couldn't deal with it all by ourselves and that we needed to talk to somebody. Three days later, we were in therapy.

It has been one week since Mariana's birth mother, Anna, had decided she wanted to keep the baby. I remember saying to Jude at the time, that it was as if god was adding the cherry to the top of the layered cake of shit that the Adams Fosters family had been force fed. My wording had unintentionally startled out of Jude the first laugh he had uttered in weeks, which opened the floodgates and turned into me holding a hysterically laughing Jude. He thanked me afterwards, told me he needed that. I responded by placing a kiss on his forehead.

It's taking us both a while to get used to the new romantic aspect of our relationship. The sheer novelty of being able to openly show affection to each other is still new to us, which means that every time one of us grabs the others hand, or gives the other a kiss, or initiates a hug, we both blush a little bit. Neither of us are complaining of course, and we hold hands every time we are with each other. We've also discovered that cuddling up on the couch and watching movies is the perfect way to spend a day and take your mind off of unsavory subjects. Being in this relationship is also helping Jude cope with losing Jesus. Jude told me, straight up, that if he didn't have me there to help him through this, he would probably have ended up in a psyche ward from a mental and emotional breakdown.

A week ago, the school year ended. My dad had elected to have Jude bring my school work over with him after school, and Lena had organized it so that as long as I completed my work, I wouldn't have to repeat the grade. My teachers actually came to my house so they could administer the end of the year exams. I passed them all, but I didn't do as good as I know I could have, given everything that had happened.

My dad has been trying really hard to work out his issues with the whole "me being gay" thing. He had stayed true to his promise not to try to separate Jude and I again, and has returned my cell phone and unblocked Jude's number. He lets Jude and I spend the night at the others houses again, he lets us do anything we want.

"As long as you two keep the door open, and aren't having sex, I don't care what you do." Dad had said to us one day after walking in on Jude and I giving each other a rather chaste kiss, causing much spluttering and blushing and explanations that we would not be ready for sex for a long, long time.

Today, however, one of my worst fears was realized.

When my parents were getting divorced, I did some things that I'm not proud of. Things I hoped I would never have to see another person do. Things that I actually went to therapy to deal with.

But then I found those things in Jude's bathroom garbage can.

I was spending the night at the Adams Fosters house for the first time since the whole shooting incident happened. Until tonight, our sleepovers were firmly confined to my house where my dad could watch over me like a hawk. After much convincing, groveling, moderate amounts of blackmail and a talk with Stef and Lena, dad finally consented. I was excited, more excited than I had been in a long time, and although he didn't show much outward emotion, I knew Jude was too.

We spent the whole day lounging around the house, watching movies, eating nasty microwave popcorn while cuddling on the couch. Just enjoying the others company. At about 10:00 pm, Stef appeared at the entrance to the living room.

"Uh... boys, I hate to break up the party, but it's getting late. It's time for you both to get ready for bed." she said tiredly, her eyes sunken. She had tear tracks dried on her face, and you could tell she, like a lot of the Adams-Fosters, hadn't been sleeping very well. I knew for a fact that Jude only ever got four hours of sleep before waking up from a nightmare.

Jude rose from his spot where he had laid snuggled into my side, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll go first."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I need to take a shower anyway." He said, "Don't want too many people crowding the bathroom again."

He said all of this rather nonchalantly, but with a weird edge to his voice that worried me, before walking off up the stairs. I smiled a soft smile at his retreating form, before turning my head to look back at Stef. She was looking at me funny. I was suddenly nervous.

"Can I still trust you two to share a room without any funny business?" She asked, semi serious. My cheeks got very hot as I blushed. I rose from the couch and put my hands in the pockets of my pajama bottoms.

"We haven't done anything more than kiss, Mrs. Adams Foster."

"Sweetie, you can call me Stef." She said with a soft laugh, "You're practically family already, no need to be so formal."

She nodded. She walked up to me, and gave me a hug. She pulled away and smiled at me.

"I trust you... and thank you for being there for him. He wouldn't have been able to make it through all this without you." Stef told me, and she put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. She offered me another small smile.

"I'll always be there for him, no matter who or what stands in my way."

"I know you will." She responded, "And so does he."

I sat back down on the couch and waited. About ten minutes later I heard the water shut off upstairs, and moments later the bathroom door upstairs opened and closed, signaling that it was my turn to use the bathroom. I hobbled up the stairs on my crutched the best I could and closed the door behind me. I picked up my tooth brush and squirted a bit of tooth paste onto it and began to brush my teeth. I hummed a tune under my breath as I did.

Then I smelt something.

My eyes widened, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was a very distinct, if faint, smell.

It was the faint scent of copper.

It was the smell of blood.

I knew exactly what blood smelled like, because I had smelt a large quantity of it the night I got shot. I looked around the bathroom, looking for the source of the smell, checking the bathtub and the sink before I finally noticed it.

On the rim of the toilet seat, near the edge on the front, was a drop of blood.

I stared at it for a second.

I whirled around and yanked open the medicine cabinet, withdrawing a single q-tip and swiped it through the blood, knowing that if it was fresh it would smear.

It smeared, which meant it was fresh. My first reaction was to think that maybe Brandon cut himself shaving or something, but then I mentally slapped myself at the foolishly optimistic hope, because the blood was on the toilet, not the sink, and nobody shaved over a fricken toilet. Moments later, I noticed that there were more drops of blood on the plastic bag that was shoved inside the garbage can. Steeling myself for what I knew subconsciously I was about to find, I reached for the garbage can and upturned it, dumping its contents on the floor. I hoped and prayed that I wouldn't hear the sound I had been dreading.

But I heard it, and my heart sank into the deepest recesses of my stomach.

The soft, barely audible metallic ping I most dreaded to hear, that I would have missed if I wasn't listening for it.

I sought the cursed object out with my eyes.

Among the rubbish, wrapped in a bloody square of tissue paper, was a razor blade.

"Fuck. No..." I whispered.

I gently picked up the blade, rewrapping it in the tissue and pocketed it.

I knew what Jude was doing. I had been suspicious for about a week that he might be hurting himself. He would be really sad one second, then he would disappear for a few minutes, and when he came back he was different. He was wearing only long sleeved shirts, even though it was summer in California. The signs were all there, but I had been holding out hope that it was just my mildly increased sense of paranoia playing tricks on my brain. but now I had proof.

I stood up shakily and turned and left the bathroom slowly, limping because of the absence of my crutches which I left in the bathroom. I walked into the bedroom where I found Jude sat upright on his bed, playing Star Wars: Commanders on his tablet like he did so often. I walked up beside him and looked at his arms, acting like I was just looking at what he was doing. I was looking for something I still hoped I would not find, but ended up finding anyway.

On the inside of the sleeves of Jude's white long sleeve pajama top, were small lines of red bleeding through.

My knees buckled, and tears sprang to my eyes.

No...

NO...

NO...

NO...

"Jude."

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk." I said shakily, "Put down the game for a minute please?"

He looked up at me and offers me a small confused smile.

"What is it?" he asked.

I reached out and grabbed his hand. I caressed his hand with mine.

"We tell each other everything, right?" I asked him sadly.

"Yeah, of course." He said, just a hair too quickly.

"Then why are you hiding something from me?" I asked softly.

He immediately looked scared.

"W-what do you mean?" He asked.

"Don't try to deny it Judicorn. Please." I begged him tearfully, "You've been acting differently for the last week, disappearing at weird times and showing back up acting weirdly. Wearing long sleeve shirts when it's ninety eight degrees out. I know what you've been doing... You're cutting yourself."

Withdrawing the razor blade from my pocket, I showed it to him.

"I found the razor in the garbage can." I said softly, "You didn't clean the drops of blood off the toilet seat. I can see blood leaking through the arms of your pajamas! Please don't lie to me."

Slowly, ever so slowly, I reached for his arm. I moved slowly and gently so I didn't frighten him.

"Let me see. Please."

Tears were leaking from both of our eyes as he rolled up the sleeves on his left arm.

A strangled sob escaped my throat as I stared at the twenty or so small cuts on my boyfriend's porcelain skin, with blood smeared across them. They were all fresh, and they were still bleeding.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered.

"Why are you doing this Jude?" I asked softly, trying not to break down.

"It dulls the pain I feel. From losing Jesus." He said miserably, "At least this pain I can control. This pain goes away. The other pain doesn't go away."

"This isn't gonna help, Jude. Trust me." I said, "I know what this is like."

"What do you mean?" He asked tearfully.

"When my mom and dad were getting divorce, I cut myself too." I revealed, "I only did it a couple of times, but I almost got caught so I stopped."

I rolled up my right sleeve, revealing my own small amount of self inflicted scars. I only left them exposed for a second before covering them again, unable to bear looking at them for more than a few seconds.

"How did you deal with it, Connor?" He asked. His voice was thick with the effort of holding back his tears.

"I had you, Jude." I answered, "After I met you, and we became friends, every time I started to feel depressed, or felt like I had the urge to do it again, I would grab my phone and text you, or call you."

I couldn't stop myself from reaching up to caress his cheek, trying to ignore the feeling of awkwardness I was feeling. I leaned in and kissed his forehead. His carefully constructed wall of composure finally collapsed and he fell into my embrace, and began to sob.

"I'm sorry Connor. I'm s-so s-sorry." He sobbed, "It j-j-just hurts, s-s-so m-much. First J-jesus, then the b-baby. What's next? What else is g-going to happen? I-It h-hurts!"

"Don't be afraid to show it." I told him, "You're allowed to show that you're in pain, Jude. You're safe enough to be able to let it out, Jude. I'm here for you, always. I'll always be here for you to talk to. I can't take away your grief, but I can share it."

Jude started to sob uncontrollably in my embrace. Loud, ear shattering sobs that broke my heart. I heard footsteps and I looked up to see the whole of the family standing at the door watching. Callie is the first one to notice the still exposed cuts. She covers her mouth and turns and flings herself into Brandon's arms and begins sobbing. Mariana is the next to notice and she immediately, but quietly, points it out Stef and Lena.

The entire family starts to realize the gravity of the situation and moves forward as one. I help Jude stand and the whole family wraps us in a hug. After ten minutes, they let go, and I slowly walk Jude back down the stairs to the living room. I sit him down on the couch.

"I'll be right back, okay?" I ask him gently.

He nods shakily.

I limp into the kitchen to fetch a washcloth. I turned the faucet on and soaked the cloth with warm water. I ringed it out and returned to him. I knelt in front of him, wincing as pain shot through my foot, but ignored it as I started gently scrubbing the blood off of his arm.

"Hey Stef? Do you have any bandages? Some gauze maybe?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Yeah, I'll get it real quick." She said.

Moments later she returned and handed me the bandages. I wrapped the gauze around Jude's arm before wrapping him in my embrace again.

"My granddad used to say that life was like a speeding car." I said, "If you didn't know how to handle it when it spins out of control, you'll damage it beyond repair."

He looked at me weird.

"You've been thrown a curveball. And I know it hurts. This is one pain you don't have to endure alone, Jude. It's a shared grief." I said, my voice thick with tears, "You have a family that loves you. Use them. You have me, a boyfriend who would march to the gates of hell at your command. Use me. Just promise me you won't hurt yourself again. Please, Juju?"

He scrunched his eyes at me.

"Juju?" He asked.

"Judicorn is Mariana's name for you." I reasoned, "I needed to come up with something of my own. Even if it is a bit silly."

I placed a gentle kiss on his lips again. He looked me in the eyes and nodded.

"Okay. I promise."

Nobody needed to say anything more, as the whole family fell asleep together in the living room.

This family was as close knit as a family could get.

They would always help one another. Comfort one another. Comfort him.

I would always be there for him.

Always.

And nothing was gonna stand in my way.


	3. Back At School

Connor's POV:

The summer past by quickly, with a litany of things happening. Jude and I were both attending counseling. Me for the residual trauma of being shot, and Jude for his self harm. I was perhaps the only one who didn't openly watch over him like a hawk after that night. God bless his moms and siblings, but they have no concept of discretion with these things. It got so bad that Jude snapped and screamed at them one day, and told them to stop smothering him. Of course, I watched him like a hawk, but I was subtle, more discrete. I gave him his space when he asked for it, but kept a close eye on him just in case he relapsed into cutting himself again.

My relationship with my dad has also improved. While he is still uncomfortable broaching the subject of my sexuality, he has at least accepted it. He is still a little bit too cold towards Jude for my liking, but he at least tries to engage him in conversation when Jude is around. Jude is still extremely cautious around him. The first time he came over for dinner at my house after we got together, I caught him sniffing his food as if he was trying to see if something was in it that wasn't supposed to be there.

"My dad isn't going to poison you, Jude." I had told him.

He replied by simply glaring at me for a second, before finally conceding my point and devouring his food.

Today, it was lunch time on my first day back at school. It was the beginning of eighth grade, and Lena had intercepted me to talk about Jude. It was also the first day since I was shot that I could walk without those thrice damned crutches. I still felt a dull ache in my foot every time I put weight on it, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was at the beginning of the summer. I bid Jude to go ahead and head to get in line for food while we talked. He nodded, gave me a kiss on the cheek, blushing as he did so, waved by to his mom and walked away.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Nope. Just want to talk." She replied.

I took that to mean what it truly meant. She was going to ask me about Jude.

"How is he?" Lena asked me as I limped along side of her through the halls of Anchor Beach. I winced softly every time I put weight on the foot.

I looked at her, and heaved a sigh. I reached up and messaged my temples.

"He's healing." I tell her simply, "It's going slowly, but right now, I think he's just glad to be back to a routine. He's also changed a bit."

"How do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, his tempers a bit sharper, for starters." I listed, "He's extremely sassy now. We went to the mall about a week ago, and they screwed up his order at the food court. I laughed myself silly as he chewed them up and spit 'em out whole. I think he writes his own poetry now, although he won't let me read any of it. He likes tinkering around with my dad's old drum kit, and he listens to some pretty violent music. Other than that, not much. He's slowly going back to the way he used to be. He even started wearing his nail polish again, except he wears more than just blue now."

"He hasn't cut himself again, has he?" Lena asked, a small undertone of fear in her voice as she said it.

"No." I assured quickly, "He hasn't done it again since everybody found out. The therapy is helping, although he loathes to admit it. It also kind of helps that I had you lock all the razors in your and Stef's bathroom."

"What do you mean by violent music?" Lena asked.

I gave a small laugh.

"He's quite partial to some of my dad's old metal records." I said with a chuckle, "He borrowed a few of my dad's old Iron Maiden and Metallica CD's and synced them to his iPod."

She looks at me with a look of understanding.

"Jesus liked them. He actually went to see Iron Maiden in concert a few years ago."

"I know. That's what Jude told me." I said, "I thought he was just doing it to blow off some steam, but he actually likes the music. He was over last weekend, and I actually caught him headbanging and playing air guitar to the Trooper by Iron Maiden. It was the cutest thing ever. I got it all on video too. It shocked my dad half to death too. The look on his face was priceless. I'll have to show you guys the video sometime."

Lena chuckled a bit as we reached the door to the cafeteria. I caught sight of Jude, standing in a corner with Taylor and, surprisingly, Daria.

Daria.

Ah, shit.

A nervous bead of perspiration trickled down my forehead. As mentioned already, Daria and I hadn't had the friendliest breakup. It had ended with her storming from the room, screaming slurs back at me. I knew that lunch today would be extremely awkward, and I couldn't help but groan a little bit.

"I'll see you and your dad at dinner." Lena said as she excused herself.

I nodded to her and approached the three of them slowly with a limp. I made eye contact with Jude, who offered me a wide smile, which I returned.

Jude had grown a lot in the three months that passed since Jesus's death, both physically and in maturity. He had grown to the point that he was the same height as me, something that he took great pleasure in. He had started lifting weights with me every chance he got, so his once wiry frame was now fitted with a decent set of muscles. Because of his refusal to get a haircut, his hair had grown longer, to the point where it covered his ears and had a constant shaggy messiness to it that I found adorable.

He reached his hand out to me, which I took without hesitation. I made eye contact with Taylor, who nodded politely, and Daria, who looked uncomfortable.

"Taylor. How was your summer?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty good." The girl responded happily.

I turned slowly to Daria, who was pointedly looking everywhere but at me, and looked apprehensive about being near me.

"Daria?"

She looked up at me nervously.

"What about you?" I asked her.

"Uh. It wasn't too bad." She said quietly, "Didn't do much, so..."

"She spent the first few weeks of the summer sulking about you. Then she got over it, and started feeling bad for what she said to you." Taylor answered for her.

Daria shot her a glare, which Taylor returned with a roll of her eyes.

"I take it you guys didn't end well?" Jude asked me with a quirked eyebrow.

"Unless you call calling me a faggot and storming from the room screaming as 'ending well', then no. It didn't end well at all." I said nonchalantly, not really bothered by it at all anymore.

It took me a fraction of a second to realize that everybody else had stopped walking. Then I remembered that I had neglected to ever inform Jude of that little detail of the end of my relationship with Daria. I immediately regretted speaking at all, because almost as soon as the final word left my mouth I knew I had made a big mistake. Jude's demeanor changed in a fraction of a second.

He tensed, his eyes narrowed, he cracked his neck, slowly turned to face Daria, and then he growled. He actually freaking growled at her.

God that's hot.

What? I'm fourteen. That makes me a teenager. Give me a break.

Daria's eyes widened at the look of death Jude was bestowing upon her, and took a couple of steps back. For every step she took back, Jude took another step forward.

"You didn't tell me that..." He said softly. The tone of his voice had dropped at least an octave with the promise of a painful death, or at the very least a painfully debilitating injury.

"Jude, it's fine." I said.

"The hell it is." He hissed, before setting back in on Daria, "How dare you call him that?"

I reached out and grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards me. I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulling him closer. I placed a kiss on the side of his head.

"I expected it to be honest." I said, trying to placate him, "I broke up with her, coming out to her as gay at the same time, and then I told her that I basically cheated on her."

"Does that even really count as cheating?" Jude asked.

"Well, yeah. It does. I kissed you while she was dating me. That's definitely cheating." I said with a wince, "To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't punch me."

"It was still uncalled for." Daria said softly, "Jude's right. I shouldn't have done that, and I am sorry. I was just shocked and hurt. I felt really bad about it afterwards. I would have called and apologized, but I figured you would either scream at me, or just hang up."

"Let's not dwell on the past, shall we? Let's go find a table." Taylor interjected.

We walked towards the door leading outside to go sit at the picnic tables outside. As we were about to reach the door, we heard one of my former baseball teammates jeer at us.

"Fucking queers. We don't wanna see that shit."

That made me wince. I had considered these guys my friends once, but as soon as word reached them about my coming out and my relationship with Jude, they turned on me at the drop of the hat. I would have gone to bat for any of them, no matter what they did I would have stood by them, but because I happen to love another boy I'm not worth the dirt on their cleats. I had been forced to quit the baseball team because of their prejudices. I mean, it's not like I could actually play with a hole in my foot, but I would have liked to be able to play when it fully heals. Now that's never gonna happen, and it hurts.

Jude noticed the shift in my mood, and took it as a personal attack that demanded retribution.

In my hurt haze, it took me a moment before I noticed that Jude had released my hand. I whirled around to see him stalking towards them.

"Oh shit..." I said. I didn't even manage to make two steps forward before he reached them. He picked up the bowl of marinara dipping sauce on the boy's tray, and proceeded to empty it on the head of the boy who made the comment. He then casually walked back up to me, before turning back towards them with a smirk.

"I guess you really don't wanna see this then?" He said, and he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and planted a positively indecent kiss on me in front of everybody.

Did I mention that he's gotten really sassy lately? Because he really has...

...God, I love it when he's sassy.

It lasted for ten seconds before we parted with an audible pop.

Taylor broke the tension in her usual way.

"Grrr, kitty's got his claws out now, huh?" She said with a smirk that was pure evil.

"You do realize that you pretty much declared war on them, don't you?" I said, trying to regain my breath.

"Yeah, and they're gonna lose." He said nonchalantly.

It was at this point that I grabbed Jude by the hand and dragged him outside.

Needless to say, we didn't spend lunch eating.

More so making out against the wall of the school. So much so, that when the bell rang to signal the end of our lunch period we had to excuse ourselves to the bathroom to compose ourselves before Jude and I headed to our next class, which he had bribed me into taking with him.

It was a poetry class.

Just to be clear, I'm not good at poetry.

We sat down next to each other at a table in the back of the room, and waited for the teacher to walk in, which she did ten seconds later.

"Good morning class. Welcome to Poetry. I know most of today, in most of your classes, you have spent the day getting to know your classmates and reading your syllabus. Well in this class, we are gonna get straight to it. I want you all to write a poem. It can be about anything. You can say anything. Do not be afraid to say what you mean, or be obscene. Do not let your work be stained by the shadow of censorship."

I chanced a glance at Jude. He had a thoughtful look on his face and had already started writing.

"You will most of the period, and then you will turn it in when twenty minutes remains. Then I will pick the best three out of the bunch to be read aloud by their writers. Off you go."

"What are you writing yours on?" I whisper to him.

"You'll see." He said.

Over the course of the class period, I would sneak peeks at Jude, watching the plethora of emotions surging across his face. He was really into writing what he was writing, and it looked like he was getting angrier the more he continued.

At the end of the twenty minutes, she collected them. I handed her the mess I had managed to cobble together, feeling proud that it actually rhymed. The teacher sat down at her desk and started looking through them. When she reached Jude's, she flipped through the three pages it encompassed. She looked shocked for a second, and then she nodded.

She called the first two people to read their poems, which they did. They were both pretty good. A lot better than mine anyway. After the second person, she nodded towards Jude.

"The best for last. Mr. Adams Foster, please come up and read your poem."

Jude stalked forward. He looked a bit nervous, but also confident. He stood at the front of the room, and took a calming breath.

"One thing that gets on my nerves is discrimination and ignorance. I decided to write a poem that was also a rant. I apologize in advance for the cursing. This is called 'Inequality'."

He took a breath and began to recite his poem.

"All who are born different  
Are oppressed and ostracized.  
Separated by invisible walls,  
They're depressed and criticized  
People's rights denied by the state,  
They're distressed and despised.

Hate and misery  
Whipped into a fury  
Human rights violated  
Religion shoved down our throats  
Our freedom's been desecrated.

All of a different orientation  
Scorned by the whole fucking nation

Discrimination at your discretion  
Equality is in your imagination

The government fights  
For justice for some  
And inequality for ALL.

Makes as much sense  
As a fucking steel balloon  
Our leaders are too damned dense  
It needs to change soon.

It's not a disease  
There is no cure  
People live like this with ease  
And still their hearts are pure

But try to tell this shit  
To the morons we call leaders  
They don't listen, they just throw a fit  
The day they listen is the day they all quit

All of a different orientation  
Scorned by the whole fucking nation

Discrimination at your discretion  
Equality is in your imagination

The government fights  
For justice for some  
And inequality for ALL.

They cite religion as justification  
For stomping on our rights  
Religion clouding government decision

Sanctity of marriage, that's what they say  
What a crock of shit  
Marriage in the world today  
Ain't valued one fucking bit.

Take a look in Hollywood  
Where marriages last a week  
But to those who like the same sex  
Are denied the rights they seek  
Fear of change is what makes this country weak

All of a different orientation  
Scorned by the whole fucking nation

Discrimination at your discretion  
Equality is in your imagination

The government fights  
For justice for some  
And inequality for all."

He finished reading and bowed to the class as the bell rang to signal the end of the period. I snapped both of my fingers a bunch of times, like you would at a coffee house poetry reading, earning a laugh and a nod of appreciation from the teacher.

"You know..." I whispered to Jude as we walked down the hallway toward study hall, "If you put that to a beat, you could make a metal song out of it."

"That was the point." He said, smirking widely.

"You're listening to too much of my dad's old metal collection." I said jokingly.

He poked me jokingly.

"No such thing as too much metal." He retorted with mock seriousness, causing me to laugh.

"Whatever makes you happy, Juju." I say to him with a wide smile. He turned to me and smiled softly.

"You make me happy. You know that don't you." He said to me, entirely serious, "You chase all the bad thoughts away. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He gave me another kiss, and then stared into my eyes.

This was quickly becoming a habit of ours after kissing. We could stare into each other's eyes, and without realizing it, ten minutes would pass around us.

"Connor?"

"Hmm?"

"I know we've only been dating for a short time." He said softly, "But... I just wanted you to know..."

His speech stuttered to a stop.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"Come on Juju. Tell me."

"I just wanted to tell you that..." He said, "That I love you."

I stopped walking from the shock.

Had he really just said what I thought he had just said?

"You... you love me?" I asked, making sure he had indeed said what he had said.

"Yeah. I do." He confirmed, "You don't have to say it back if you don't want to, but..."

That was far as he got before I was kissing him again. I pulled away slightly, and whispered against his lips.

"I love you too, Jude."


	4. Birthday

Jude's POV:

Today is my fourteenth birthday, and as with all my days now, it begins with me laying in bed reminiscing.

It's my second birthday with my family, and it's my first birthday post adoption.

It's no secret that I've been through a lot, in my short now-fourteen years of life. I think you'd have to be like the soldier from the movie Johnny Got His Gun not to notice that. No arms, no legs, no sight, no hearing, no speech, no nothing.

When Callie and I went into the Foster System when I was six, after my dumbass father got my mother and somebody else killed while drunk driving, I remember Callie telling me over and over again.

"We'll be okay. We'll get through this together, just don't let this break you."

'Don't let this break me'.

That phrase.

I would chant that in my mind when things got bad, and I can remember every time as clear as day.

The first time I ever chanted it was when I was seven. Our foster father was a raging alcoholic. He screamed at me when I couldn't clean the dishes fast enough to satisfy him, and then he broke a beer bottle on my shoulder. I had to go to the hospital and have glass shards removed from my shoulder, and I had to get stitches. Callie and I were moved the very next day.

It didn't break me. I learned to dodge incoming hits after that day, so in a way it made me stronger.

The second time I chanted it was when I was eight. Our foster mother was an artist. She was also careless, and she was only in it for the money. She cared more about her paintings than she did the children she was supposed to care for. She was neglectful, and she would often forget to feed me, Callie and our other foster siblings at the time. One night, I refused to take a bath, because what eight year old wants to be clean? She threw me, bodily, into a bathtub filled to the brim with boiling hot water. I screamed as the water scalded my skin. We were, again, moved the next day after Callie did something to piss her off and get us sent away.

I wasn't complaining, and I got a little revenge of my own before leaving by doodling all over one of her precious paintings with a black permanent marker. It was a self portrait of her. I think the devil horns, vampire fangs and mustache I so artistically added were a massive improvement.

What? I had burns because of that old shrew. She's lucky I'm wasn't a pyromaniac, or I would have set it on fire (Not that I ever became a pyromaniac, mind you).

I chanted it when I was ten, and Callie crawled into bed with me, sobbing, unable to speak. It was the night that Liam raped Callie, although I didn't know until much later. I wasn't chanting it to myself this time, I was saying it aloud to Callie as I held here as she cried herself to sleep in my arms. The next day, Callie and I were on the move again, thrown out because Liam had twisted it to where his parents thought Callie tried to force him.

I take exquisite pleasure in knowing that the slimy weasel is in prison for the next ten years. I can only imagine the kind of shit he's going through in there.

I chanted it again two years later. When I was twelve, Callie and I were place with another alcoholic slime ball. I have no idea how this worm got a fosters license. Callie and I were at home alone, and we were playing truth or dare. She dared me to try on one of our foster father's deceased wife's dresses. I did so, because I never turned down a dare from Callie. I'm too competitive. We were caught. He knocked Callie to the ground, and went after me. He ripped the dress off of me, and started punching me. Then he started kicking me. Then we heard glass shattering from outside, as Callie took a baseball bat to his car's windshield. Four days later, I was rescued by Callie, Brandon, Stef, Mike and Lena.

I chanted it as I stared down Mr. Stevens in the hallway of the hospital. I stared defiantly into his eyes as he once again denied me entrance to see Connor, and I sat down next to the door, still glaring defiantly at him.

...And I chanted it when I heard about the accident. I chanted it when we were told Jesus hadn't survived.

But for the first time ever it didn't work.

Flashback:

We were all sitting down at the dinner table, when we got the call.

Brandon was at his dad's, for his audition at Idyllwild. Only Callie and I were home with momma (Lena). I was texting Connor.

Connor: So how was the dance competition?

Jude: It was cool. Mari did this thing with a virtual dancer. It was impressive.

Connor: Sounds awesome. Wish I could have been there 2 c it.

Jude: Me 2. I know I just saw u earlier, but I miss u already.

Connor: Aww, Jude. I'm touched. I miss u 2. Boyfriend.

I smiled to myself as I read that text.

Boyfriend.

I felt myself shiver as I reread that word.

Jude: That's gonna take some getting used to.

Connor: What is?

Jude: U calling me your boyfriend. 

Connor: I know what u mean, Jude. It's really new. I like it.

Jude: I do 2. All the fighting finally paid off.

Connor: Unless dad does another psychological 180 and tries to stop us again. He told me he was gonna try his best with this, but not to expect an overnight miracle.

Jude: I don't think he will. Try to break us up again, I mean. He loves you, even if he has a weird way of showing it sometimes.

Connor: I know. He let u in. He's allowing us 2 have this relationship. That's a pretty decent start.

As I started to type my reply, the house phone rang, and Lena jumped to answer it.

"Hello?" She answered.

It only took three seconds for her whole demeanor to change, and I was the first to notice. She gripped the phone tighter, she stood up straighter, and her lips thinned.

"Stef? Honey, calm down. What's wrong? What happened?" She asked tensely. Everybody was staring at her.

Her eyes widened. She gasped and dropped the phone. She stumbled backward as if she had been physically struck. I leapt up and ran to her.

"Momma, what happened?" I asked her. She snapped out of it...

And immediately became frantic.

"It's Jesus and Mariana. There was a car accident. We need to get to the hospital!" She lunged for her keys and nearly sprinted out the door, Callie and I following close behind her.

It only took us twenty minutes to reach the hospital, with mom driving like an absolute madwoman. She ran two red lights and three stop signs. I'm surprised we didn't get pulled over.

We sprinted through the doors into the waiting room and were immediately intercepted by momma (Stef), who led us to an elevator.

When we got out of the elevator, we sat down in the chairs, and momma explained everything to us.

The car had been broadsided.

It had been hit where Jesus was sitting, and he was in surgery. This is the point where I started my mental chant. For the first time ever, it gave me no comfort, so I ceased.

Mariana was fine, except for a few cuts and bruises.

Anna was having labor pains, they had both been trying to help her when it happened. She and the baby were alright.

I was the first to speak.

"Is Jesus gonna be alright?"

Mom looked grave.

"They, uh. They won't tell me anything." She said shakily.

As if on cue, a very grave looking doctor appeared in the hallway and proceed to approach us. Stef and Lena rose as one and stepped towards him.

"How is he doctor?" Lena asked.

The doctor gave a sad sigh. My heart sunk into the deepest recesses of my stomach.

"I'm so sorry."

No.

"There was nothing we could do."

NO.

"The damage was too severe. The force of the impact of the car had killed him. We tried to revive him, but it didn't work."

NO!

I was already on my feet, before he even finished the sentence.

I needed to get to Connor.

"JUDE!" Moms shouted after me, but I paid no attention to them.

I had just lost my brother.

I managed to get to an elevator and get to the floor where Connor's room was before I actually started crying. I bolted down the hallway, nearly knocking over a nurse in the process.

Mr. Stevens was returning to the room with a cup of coffee as I rushed up to the door.

"What happened to you?" He asked, shocked at my state.

"I-I n-n-need t-to s-see C-Connor." I cried.

"What happened?" He asked.

"P-please j-just L-LET M-ME IN!"

He jumped slightly as my voice raised to a distraught shout, and he nodded and pushed the door open for me.

End Flashback.

The feelings I had been feeling in the weeks that followed were what led me to pick up that stupid razor blade for the first time. I knew it was a bad idea. I knew that it wasn't healthy, and I knew there was always the risk of cutting too deep. I just didn't care. I had just wanted to feel something besides heartache, loss, sorrow, or grief. Even if what replaced it was physical pain, at least this was a pain that I was in control of, I told myself.

I became addicted to it.

I did it every time I was alone.

But I got a bit too careless, I guess, and Connor found one of my blades. We talked about it more in depth later, and he told me that the reason he figured it out was because he knew the signs because he had been through it himself, for however brief it was for him.

Then the whole family found out as I finally allowed myself to break down in his arms. He had held me, cleaned the blood off of my arm, took care of me. Gave me a pet name that he takes glee in calling me at every available opportunity.

Juju, he calls me. I thought it was silly at first, but it's grown on me.

I can safely say that I wouldn't be alive without him.

How far we've both come as well. We're closer than we've ever been. We're both more comfortable with PDA, even if it does get us into trouble sometimes. We've both been waging a Cold War with the baseball team. Everybody can feel the tension, and they know it's gonna erupt into a fight sooner or later, but nobody knows exactly when it's gonna happen, how bad it's gonna be when it does happen, and what's gonna happen to cause it.

We had Taylor and Daria on our side for a while, but then they both moved within weeks of each other. Taylor's father had been transferred to his company's main office in Denver, Colorado. Daria's mom was sick, so they needed to move so she could get proper treatment. We were devastated to see them go, and many a tearful goodbye were exchanged.

Now, it was just Connor and I.

I jump as I feel him shift and wake up next to me.

I'm still surprised that Mr. Stevens lets him spend the night.

"Ugh. You awake?" he asked.

I reached over and smoothed his hair down, so it wasn't sticking up in a hundred different directions. I gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm awake." I replied.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I tell him, "Just thinking."

"Happy 14th Birthday, Juju." He said, before leaning in and kissing me on the cheek, "Care to share?"

"Just thinking about everything that's happened over the last few months." I tell him, "Can't believe it's November already. It's been five months since Jesus died."

He snuggles up to me, and we lay in silence for a few minutes. He starts playing with my hair, which makes me laugh.

"I had a dream about you last night." he said. "About the day we met."

I smiled at the memory.

"I'll never forget that day." He continued. "You were so nervous."

"Wouldn't you be?" I asked.

"I remember my first day at Anchor Beach." Connor said, "I moved here in third grade. I was extremely nervous, so yeah, I know what you mean. You, though? You were so nervous you were shaking."

I smiled as he continued his recollection.

"You were this tiny, shy little thing, and you were so lost." He continued, "You had no clue where you were going. I showed you around. When we sat next to each other in math, and you couldn't figure out the math problem, you asked me for help on. You were so polite, I couldn't help but smile at you. Even then I knew, that there was something about you. Something the other kids didn't have, something I needed in a friend."

"Did you ever think it would become this? I'm guessing, probably not." I said.

"What? Did I ever expect that I would end up falling so hopelessly, head over heels for you?" He asked me, "No. I knew I was gay already, but..."

"Wait, you did?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, I was starting puberty and girls just didn't, you know... do anything for me." Connor explained, "But I remember watching some movie, and it struck me just how... good the lead actor looked."

"When did you start having a crush on me?" I asked him.

He thought about it for a moment.

"Um... remember when we were playing with the Ouija board in Mariana's room after Stef's dad's funeral?"

"Yeah, and I used it to ask my mom if it was okay that Stef and Lena adopted me." I said with a nod.

"I think it was then I started to realize that my feelings for you might not be completely platonic." He revealed, " I remember looking at you and thinking how cute your smile was. I remember feeling unbelievably jealous when Maddie asked you out. I tried to cover it up by saying I wanted to ask her out. Anyway, what about you? When did you realize you liked me?"

"Honestly?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Kind of a funny coincidence. I started questioning my feelings for you when said you wanted to ask Maddie out." I said. He barked a laugh.

"Wow." He said.

"Yeah, but the moment I realized it for sure was when you kissed me in the tent." I told him, "I felt more in that one kiss, than anything else I had ever felt in my whole life. And every time I see you or am in the same room with you, I feel like everything is gonna be okay in the world. You gave me a reason to live, Connor. Without you, I wouldn't be here. You make me so happy. You shared my grief when Jesus died. You shared my pain and held my hand through my period of self harm, and now we share happiness with each other."

He leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. We both shivered at the contact.

"I love you, Jude."

"I love you too, Connor. More than anything in the world."


	5. Visitation

Jude's POV:

One year today.

It's been a whole year since Jesus died in that accident...

...And every day, I still miss him.

I know now that a lot of people in the family were shocked at how badly I reacted to his death, because all we ever did in front of the family was bicker. He may only have been my big brother for a few months, but he was still my big brother; and while we did bicker and argue, he was always there when I needed him.

When he found out I was being picked on at Anchor Beach, he offered to scare them into leaving me alone. I told him that I appreciated it, but he didn't have to. He said that he was going to do it anyway, but Connor beat him to the punch.

Since we had shared a room, he was the one who would comfort me if I had a nightmare, or would talk to me when I couldn't sleep. We would talk for hours at night, even if I had woke him up with my teeth grinding and he had thrown a pillow at me.

He offered to beat Connor's dad to a pulp when Mr. Stevens first tried to break up mine and Connor's friendship. I told him that I would love to see it happen, but it was unrealistic because Mr. Stevens was a lot older, and was, according to Connor, a black belt.

He would play video games with me, and he even let me beat him a couple of times. He even gave me dating advice once, even though it was useless. I wanted to be like him. Cool, confident. He was my older brother, and I loved him.

Today, for the first time since the funeral, I was going to visit his grave. Connor was going with me, to make sure I would be alright.

Connor's dad had offered to drive us.

I have been dating Connor for a year, and I can safely say that Mr. Stevens no longer hates me.

I kind of like him now. After a couple of weeks of watching how Connor and I acted together, he resigned himself to the fact that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and that Connor's relationship with me wasn't just something he would grow out of. Moms invited them over to the house for father's day dinner about a month after Jesus died, and I spent a majority of the dinner glaring at him from across the table, while simultaneously playing footsie with Connor.

After that day, he started trying to make an effort to get to know me, and no matter how reluctantly, he has changed. He had to drag himself through it kicking and screaming, but he has indeed changed.

The first change I noticed was that he doesn't watch us like a hawk like he used to. He's comfortable leaving Connor and I in the house alone together. I guess he's not afraid we're gonna jump on each other as soon as he walked out of the door, even if we do just that sometimes. He's gotten to the point where he can admit that I'm Connor's boyfriend in public, even if he does mumble it awkwardly most of the time. Surprisingly, he's even capable of making friendly conversation with me. (I can already feel your jaws on the floor).

He still gets awkward around Connor and I when we show physical affection towards each other, but he doesn't freak out. The first time he caught us making out, I was terrified that he would try to disembowel me or something like that. Instead, he just clamped his eyes shut, back out of the room quickly, and told us to leave Connor's bedroom door open. Now though, he'll just tell us to get a room. Connor's not used to his dad teasing him like that yet.

His finest moment, in Connor and my opinions, was when Connor's mom found out he was gay, when she came to visit him a month and a half after the father's day dinner. That was when he officially gave our relationship his blessing. That was when he proved he would do ANYTHING to protect Connor...

Flashback:

The day had started so well.

Connor and I were engaged in one of our favorite activities.

Cuddling on the couch, watching the original Star Wars trilogy.

But then the impossible had happened...

I had finally met somebody I liked less than Mr. Adam Stevens.

I thought that I was the one who got the short end of the stick in the field of biological parents, but as I sat next to Connor on his couch, his hand in mine, my arm around him in comfort, and both of our eyes wide, locked on the scene in front of us.

Connor's mother had finally made an appearance to check on her son...

Three months late!

She didn't even knock when she arrived at the house. She had walked into the living room like she had owned the place while Connor and I had been cuddling on his living room couch. He looked up from the movie, locked eyes with her, and jolted away from me. I gave her a once over.

"Oh no." Connor mumbled.

She was good looking, but also not. She had this real sense of unpleasantness about her that sent shivers up my spine.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

Well, when I say she asked, I mean she practically hissed at us.

"Um. Mom, you remember Jude?" Connor said cautiously, "Well, he's... he's my b-boyfriend now."

Her eyes went wide with shock, but it soon changed to anger. It then evolved to fury.

'Crap.' I thought to myself, 'This is gonna be bad.'

Her eyes narrowed and her lip curled into a snarl as she stomped towards him, grabbed him by his arm and slapped him hard across the face. He fell to the floor with a cry.

"You Filthy FAGGOT!" She screamed, and threw a kick as Connor tried to crawl away, "You insult to GOD!"

I leapt to his defense, but she swung at me too, knocking me down. I leapt on her back, but she threw me off and I hit the wall with a thud and sink to the floor. I can hear Connor begging her to stop, and I feel rage.

A flash of silver flashed above us, and a dull thump brings the whole thing to a halt.

An old knife is stuck in the wall on the other side of the room.

I run, wrench it out of the wall and whip around to face her, brandishing it out in front of me.

"Get the hell away from my boyfriend, you evil bitch."

She backed away, and I rushed to Connor's side, pulling him to his feet and putting myself between him and his mother.

"If you want to hurt him, you have to go through me." I snarl, "You rotten shrew."

"I beg to differ."

We all turn towards the source of the voice to find that Mr. Stevens is standing in the doorway...

Brandishing a samurai sword in one hand and a revolver in the other.

"She has to go through me first," He growls dangerously, "Before she can get anywhere near you two."

I smile an evil smile as he advances and Ms. Stevens backs away from Connor and I.

"Connor, Jude, go sit down on the couch. I need to have some words with my beloved ex-wife." He spits venomously, and places the tip of the sword against her neck. He backs her against the wall, glaring hatefully at her the whole way.

I pulled Connor towards the couch, and we both collapsed onto it. I pulled Connor into a tight hug as he started to sob. I felt the intense urge to take the knife I had taken possession of and bury it into one of his mothers eyeballs, but the price of fulfilling such a delicious fantasy as a regrettably long prison sentence.

"Listen here, you fucking bitch. If you ever come near my son again, let alone touch him I will not hesitate to fucking kill you, Elizabeth." Mr. Stevens growled.

"You're actually standing up for these... these freaks?" She shrieked.

"YOU'RE THE FREAK, YOU BITCH!" Connor screamed.

"Connor!" Mr. Stevens scolded, "Let me handle this."

"You are letting our son, be corrupted by that little fag!" Elizabeth screamed.

"Yes, they are gay. Yes, they are together." Adam shouted at her, "It's not gonna fucking change any time soon, either."

"I can't believe you are allowing this!"

"I wasn't comfortable with it at first either," Adam admitted, "I tried to stop it from happening, but it didn't work. MY son is too stubborn, and so is Jude. It's not gonna change, and there's nobody out there that would make him as happy as Jude does. I'd have to be a fool to ignore the fact that they love each other. Now, get out. Never come back, because next time, I will use this. I know you know how sharp this sword is. This was my dad's pride and joy, and he always made sure it was sharp. All it would take is one twitch, and I could take your spiteful little head off. NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

She flew out of the house at a speed previously unknown to human kind. He turned to us. He dropped the sword and put the revolver down on the table, and sat down next to us.

He wrapped us both in a hug. We both tensed, but we relaxed into the embrace. I pulled out of the hug, but Connor didn't and he kept crying.

"I'm so sorry boys." He said, "Are you alright, Connor?"

"No." He cried, "My mom hates me now."

I reached out and placed a comforting hand on Connor's shoulder.

"Why don't you head up to bed, okay buddy?" He told Connor before turning to me, "Jude, I'll call Stef and Lena and tell them what happened and that you're gonna stay over here."

Connor leapt from the couch and flew up the stairs as fast as his injured foot would allow him. I slowly rose to follow him, but Connors dad put a hand on my shoulder.

"Sit."

"Huh?"

"I've put this off long enough." He said.

"Put what off?" I asked confused.

"You deserve the truth about why I couldn't stand the thought of you with my son."

I sat back down.

Finally, I was going to get some answers to questions I had never had the courage to ask.

He reached and picked the sword up from where he sat it on the coffee table.

"This sword was my fathers. That knife was my Uncles. They gave them to me when they died."

I looked up at him. He was staring at his eyes in the reflective blade. I held up the knife and looked at it. I noticed the swastika on the handle, and dropped it as if my hand had been burned.

"Dad got the sword from his father, who got it off a dead Japanese officer during World War II. My Uncle got the knife off a dead Nazi soldier. Before they died, they told my dad and me to only use them to protect those we hold most dear. We both trained to use them. I was always better with throwing the knife. I only ever beat dad sparring once."

He stopped for a moment to draw a deep breath.

"I only ever saw my dad used it once, when I was a kid."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Somebody broke into the house in the middle of the night." Adam continued, "He snuck into my room. He tried to... do things to me while I slept. I started screaming. Dad came in with these."

He held up the sword for me to see, and nodded towards the knife. I stared at between them in horror.

"He only swung it once. Took the guy's arm off, then he called the cops."

"I... I'm so sorry." I said. He offered me a small smile that only lasted for a second, but it still happened.

"After that, I thought all gay people were like that." He continued, "Over the years, that attitude festered, to the point when I saw you patting Connor on the back at the batting cages that one time, all I could see was that man, and I flipped the fuck out. I owe you both an apology."

"You have to know that I would never force him to do ANYTHING he didn't want to do." I said adamantly, "I love him too much to hurt him. I want to PROTECT him!"

"And I know that now." He said, cutting me off. "I saw you try to stop her, and I saw her knock you flat on your ass. You leapt on her back, and again landed on your ass. You put yourself in between her and Connor without a single thought for your own safety. I saw the hate in your eyes."

He drew breath again.

"I know you won't hurt him... which is why I'm giving your relationship my blessing."

I looked at him with wide eyes.

Had he really just said that, or was I hallucinating? I pinched my arm and felt pain, so I knew I wasn't dreaming.

"Are you serious?" I asked, gobsmacked.

"Yeah, kid. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But, yeah." He said, "I'm glad he at least had the sense to pick somebody who has a backbone. If he has to date a boy, I'm glad it's you, and not some random punk he's just met."

I looked at him, allowing a small smile to slip onto my face.

"T-thanks Mr. Stevens, that means a lot to me." I said, "Connor will love to hear that."

"Call me Adam, kid." He said.

"Seriously?"

"I might as well get used to it now." He said, "It's not like you're going anywhere anytime soon."

I reached down and picked the knife up from its place on the floor and reached it to him.

He stared at the knife, sitting in my unclenched palm... and he shook his head.

He reached out and gently folded my fingers around it, before reaching into his pocket and handing me a small sheath.

"Keep it." He said. I stared at him in astonishment as he continued, "Think of it as a peace offering. Just promise me that you'll protect my son. You keep him safe... even if you have to use this to do it."

I nodded.

"I promise. On my life."

"Good. Now go to bed. I'll call Stef and Lena." He said.

I nodded, and rose from the couch and headed to the stairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I turned back to him.

"Thank you."

I ran up the stairs to Connor's room. I walked in and sat down on the bed next to him, put my arm around him and leaned my head on his shoulder. It took him a minute to calm down enough to speak coherently.

"What did dad want?" He said through his sniffling.

"He, uh. He was actually giving me his blessing... and a Nazi dagger." I said seriously. He laughed through his tears, and looked at me. When he saw the serious look on my face, his eyes widened.

"Wait... are you actually being serious?" He asked, shakily. I held up the sheathed knife that I still had clenched in my fist. "Holy shit."

"Yeah." I said, before wrapping him in a hug, "Everything's gonna be okay now."

He started to cry again, but this time, the tears were from happiness.

End of Flashback.

I was shaken from my memory by Connor shaking my shoulder.

"Come on Jude, we're here."

I looked out the window at the cemetery. I steeled my nerves and got out of the SUV. I turned back to Adam.

"We won't be long."

"Take as long as you need, kid." He said.

I nodded, and took Connor's hand and led him towards Jesus's grave.

As we approached the tombstone, my resolve began to weaken.

As we stood in front of it, I could no longer hold in the tears as I sunk to my knees. I grabbed a handful of the grass in both hands. In the back of my mind I noticed Connor sink to the ground next to me, wrapping his arm around me in silent comfort.

"Hey big bro." I said to the tombstone, before looking up at the sky, hoping that he was up there and could hear me, "Sorry it took so long to come see you. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It hurt so much. Everybody's okay now, or as okay as they can get. Everybody still misses you, but that'll never change."

I sniffled, and Connor rested his head on my shoulder.

"Connor and I are dating now. Made it official the day before you died. I wish I could have had the chance to tell you. He really helped me through it. He's the only reason I'm not down there with you."

Connor squeezed me when I said that.

"I've changed since that day. I became a little more like you. I'm more confident, now. I even grew my hair out like you used to have it." I said with a soft smile.

"I love you Jesus. We may have only been brothers for a couple of months, but that was enough. You were there for me when I needed you, and for that I will be always be grateful. I looked up to you. I still do. I always will."

I stood up, and so did Connor.

"I gotta go. I promise it won't be a year before I come back this time." I said. I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes.

"Goodbye Jesus."

We turned and started walking back towards the SUV, Connor with his arm still draped across my shoulders. I smiled at him and kissed him on the temple, remembering what I told Connor that night at his house.

We really were gonna be alright.


	6. Daniel Evans

Jude's POV.

Today, was like any other day at first. We got to school, we glared at the baseball team members who sneered at us and shouted slurs at us. Both Jude and I were surprised that they hadn't learnt their lessons yet. It amazed us that it was possible for somebody to possess an IQ that begins with a decimal point.

We had been waging war on them for the longest time. We had both pulled more stunts and pranks on them than we could count over the past two years. From, rigging stink bombs to go off when they opened their lockers, to replacing their shampoo in the locker rooms with hair coloring. No matter what we did, they just kept coming back for more.

Connor and I were heading to lunch today when it happened.

After Daria and Taylor both left, it was just us against them. Two of us, against a whole baseball team hell-bent on making our lives as miserable as humanly possible. We managed to hold our own in the ongoing war against them, but we couldn't win it. It was a stalemate.

Today, however, fate deemed it fit to intervene.

Connor and I had just turned a corner and stepped outside to head to our favored table, which sat under a tree which much of the school population had dubbed the "Make Out Tree", when out of nowhere I was nearly knocked over by a mass of black that stalked past at a steady pace. I felt myself falling back until a black clad arm lunged out and grabbed mine, steadying me quickly.

"Terribly sorry 'bout that, mate." The stranger said, with an accented voice as he released my hand, "I wasn't payin' attention to where I was going."

"S'alright." I said quickly.

Then I actually looked up and took a look at the guy.

I had to restrain myself from recoiling away from the stranger. He was rather intimidating for a 15 or 16 year old.

He was at least a head taller than Connor. He had a bit of a heavier set build, but you could tell that most of his bulk was from muscle rather than fat. We couldn't see much of his facial features, because his long hair, along with his fedora and sunglasses hid most of his face. He was holding himself with a demeanor that reeked of caution of warned any with ill intention to rethink their life choices.

I have also never seen so much black on one person before.

He was completely decked in black. Under the thin black long coat that went down to his knees, he was dressed in a black collared polo and dress pants, and black combat boots. He wore a black fedora and tinted sunglasses, and leaned heavily on a thick black polished walking stick with a silver handle. He had a medium sized black duffle bag slung over his other shoulder. Even his nails were painted black.

You know your intimidating when people take a little half step back, which Connor and I did immediately.

"Whoa." I heard Connor whisper beside me.

"No kidding." I whispered back.

Connor and I stared at the stranger for a moment before Connor broke the silence.

"Nice look." He said.

The stranger looked at him. The way he was standing was as if he was bracing himself for a fight.

"Thank you?" The stranger said, "I think."

I shifted nervously. He noticed.

His demeanor changed in a split second. He relaxed, and his stance changed.

"You sure you're a'ight, mate?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said.

"Then relax, mate. There's no need to look so nervous." He said, "I'm not gonna hurt you, or anything stupid like that. You look like you're about to have a heart attack."

"Sorry, just not every day I meet somebody my age who dresses like a member of the KGB." I joked.

He chuckled, which turned into a guffaw of laughter. The tension was broken immediately. All three of us relaxed.

"Nice. I haven't heard that one before." He chuckled, "I haven't laughed like that in months."

"Glad I could be of service." I said with a small smile.

"I'm gonna have to write that down, actually." He said, "They usually say I'm dressed like a member of the Italian mafia, or an undercover FBI Agent, or more recently an incarnation of Doctor Who."

Connor and I snorted.

He studied us for a second, looked away before nodding to himself almost imperceptibly with a small smile. He turned his head back to face us.

"Hey, uh... Do you fine gentleman mind if I sit with you?" He asked.

"Yeah. Of course." I said, "As long as you don't mind sitting with the school's resident gay kids."

"That makes all three of us, so I amongst my own kind then." He said nonchalantly as we lead him to our table, "Besides, you're both the first people I've met today who are even remotely pleasant. Had a run in with a couple of troglodytes earlier. Had to teach them some manners."

Connor and I stared at him as he casually admitted his sexuality. We'd never seen anybody be so casual about it before. Even now, in 2016, when sexuality was spoken about amongst our peers, it's in hushed whispers unless of course you are Jude and I, in which case we couldn't care less.

There was something about this guy. Something about him that I liked. I shared a look with Connor and nodded.

"Sure, follow us." I told the stranger, who smiled at us gratefully.

We walked over to our favorite table, which sat in the grass right under a tree and gives us the perfect amount of shade, and sat down. He sat his duffle bag on the table, unzipped it, and produced three twenty ounce bottles of Coca Cola and a thermos. He opened the thermos, which was full of ice, and cracked open one of the bottles and poured the drink into it and took a sip after the fizz had gone down.

"Delicious." He said, before reaching into his bag and producing a roast beef sandwich.

"Um..." Connor started to say, but rethought it and stayed silent.

"What?"

"Nothing, just... I can't really see what you look like. Your hair and glasses kind of hide it." Connor said.

"Oh! Okay, hang on." He said.

He removed his hat first. He shook his head, his curly brown hair falling down past his shoulders. He pulled a hair tie out of his pocket and pulled his hair back into a ponytail, revealing his face. He had a strong jaw, and the makings of a beard starting to form. Then he removed his sunglasses, revealing a warm gaze of the deepest shade of green I have ever seen. He had bags under his eyes, which I guessed meant he wasn't sleeping well. The redness to his eyes suggested that he had cried recently. I wondered momentarily if I should ask if he was okay, but I decided that pushing for answers right after meeting him would not be the best idea.

"So... what accent is that?" I asked instead.

"Scottish." He said, "Born and raised in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland."

"That's cool." Connor said with a smile, "I've never met anybody from another country before. What was it like?"

"It was alright, until..." He started to say, but back tracked quickly, "Um. Never mind."

"Oh! We never got your name!" Connor exclaimed.

"Bollocks, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" he said, "Forgetting my manners. How rude of me, I apologize. My name's Daniel. Daniel Evans. But you can call me Danny."

"Okay, well, I'm Jude. Jude Adams-Foster." I said.

Danny's eyes lit up.

"Hey Jude!" He exclaimed, reaching out and shaking my hand vigorously, "That's my all time favorite song!"

Connor burst out laughing.

"Why does everybody always make that joke?" I asked.

"Because it's too obvious." Connor teased, "I'm Connor. Connor Stevens."

He reached out and shook Danny's hand.

We all sat in companionable silence, but I could feel Danny studying me. I snuck a peek. He was looking between me and Connor, munching on his sandwich. After a few more minutes of studying me, he put his sandwich down.

"So... are you guys a couple."

"Yep. Been for about two years now." Connor answered.

Danny nodded and smiled. I noticed that the smile was sort of sad.

"Good for you two." Danny said, "Only the luckiest of us find love so young and are brave enough to chase it and catch it."

"Oh, it was a long chase, trust us." Connor commented dryly, "I ended up getting shot in the foot before Jude and I finally got together officially."

"How the bloody hell did that happen?" Danny asked shocked.

"My dad wasn't the most accepting at first." Connor explained, "He thought Jude was gay, so he tried to stop me being friends with him. Over a couple of months, things boiled until I ended up kissing Jude during our seventh grade camping trip. Then about a month later, after getting a girlfriend to throw my dad off the scent, a lot of covert flirting and another kiss later, Jude and I snuck out with my ex and her friend to toilet paper somebody's house for a birthday prank. I guess Taylor, my ex's friend, picked up on our feelings, and convinced us to go sneak into her house and steal some booze to get drunk and make out."

"Sounds like she was trying to give you a way to be with him and have an out at the same time." Danny surmised.

"Pretty much." I added, "But while we were there, her dad woke up. He though he was being robbed and shot at us. Hit Connor in the foot. Connor's dad badgered him at the hospital about why he snuck out, and Connor finally snapped and told him."

"Practically screamed it at him." Connor corrected.

"He banned me from seeing Connor at all." I said, "Connor managed to borrow Taylor's phone during her visit and texted me and told me what he'd done. The next day I walked up to the hospital and demanded to see him. With help from my mom, Connor's dad caved and let me in. We got together while I was there."

"Has he gotten better about it?" Danny asked.

"Oh yeah. He's a lot better." I said, "He likes me now, it just took him a while. A bit longer than Connor would've liked, but it's all good now."

"That's good." Danny said.

"What about you?" Connor asked, "You said you were gay too. You got anybody special back in Scotland."

Danny froze, sandwich halfway to his mouth. His eyes glazed over slightly for a moment, before he shook his head to rid it of its invading thoughts.

"Um. No. No I don't." He mumbled sadly.

He sounded heartbroken.

"So..." Connor began, changing the subject because he sensed Danny's discomfort, "How are you liking America so far?"

"I've only lived here for two weeks. Haven't seen enough of it yet." He said nonchalantly.

"We could show you around after school, if you want. You could come with me and Connor to my house and have dinner afterwards, too." I offered, "Spend the night. My Moms wouldn't care."

Danny studied us for a second.

"What's the catch?" He asked us, "What do you have to gain from being so nice to me?"

"No catch. You're a cool guy." I assured him.

"As for what we have to gain? We gain a friend." Connor finished, "And you gain two."

Danny smiled at the both of us softly.

"T-thank you." He said, "I'd like that. I didn't expect to make friends this quickly..."

He was interrupted by a loud, cacophonous ruckus coming from the doors to the school.

Connor tenses beside me as his former baseball teammates walk outside, disturbing the peaceful afternoon air, tossing a single baseball back and forth. Danny notices Connor tense and scoot closer to me, and turns to see what the disturbance is. He scowls slightly in confusion.

"Trouble I'm guessing?"

"Yep. They've been out to get us since we came out in 7th Grade." Connor said, wrapping a arm around me protectively, "We've been at constant war with them."

Danny growled, his hand slowly inching towards his walking stick.

"Wonderful. Homophobic baseball team. Is it Christmas already?" He growled sarcastically, and I couldn't stop myself from snorting.

"HEY FAGGOT! HEADS UP!" One of the baseball players shouted in our direction as he threw the baseball directly at Connor's head. We watched as it got closer and closer...

Until a hand snatched it out of the air.

Danny grasped the walking stick, and in one swift movement, rose, threw the baseball into the air, spun and swung the walking stick. It connected with the baseball with a dull thwack. It flew back at them at sonic speed, smashing one of them right in the face. The baseball thug fell to the ground, clutching his bloody nose. Connor and I stared at him in shock as he rose with a snarl.

"Let me handle this." Danny said, a cold edge in his voice.

He reversed the grip on his walking stick and stalked forward to stand halfway between us and the baseball team. His eyes had a dangerous glint to them, and the glare on his face was frightening. You could tell that making the wrong move against him would be dangerous.

"Why is it that everywhere I go, I cannot seem to escape swine like you idiots?" Danny sneered, but it turned to a snarl as he continued, "You scum dare try to hurt him like that? That was a fucking fast ball! Are you trying to fucking kill him?"

"He's a faggot!" A random baseball idiot exclaimed, "They deserve everything they get!"

"BE SILENT!" Danny roared, "You lousy, SCUMMY, HUMAN SHAPED MOUNDS OF PUTRID HORSE MANURE!"

"Holy shit." Connor whispered to me. I nodded as Danny went into a tirade, limping forward, brandishing the walking stick like a lightsaber.

"You are going to learn very quick what happens if you cross me!" Danny snarled, "You've declared war on the WRONG FUCKING PERSON! YOU'D BETTER START RUNNING! 'CAUSE IF I REACH YOU, I'M GOING TO SHOVE THIS WALKING STICK UP YOUR COLLECTIVE ARSE, AND TURN YOU INTO A HUMAN LOLLYPOP!"

The team ran for it as Danny advanced on them.

"YEAH YOU'D BETTER RUN!" He screamed, "You COWARDS!"

He turns and limps heavily back to his seat at our table. He plops down in his seat. Muttering furiously under his breath in a language neither Connor or I could understand.

"They still gonna be a problem?" He asked angrily.

"Yep." Connor said sadly, "They're too arrogant and stupid to quit."

"Excellent." Danny spat sarcastically, "If there is one thing I can't stand, it's bloody bullies."

"You didn't have to..." Connor started to say.

"Of course I did." Danny interrupted. "You two were the first people today to show me kindness, besides the Vice Principal. I couldn't let what they tried to do slide. They could have seriously hurt you with that fast ball. I couldn't let that pass. Nobody messes with my friends. I protect my friends."

"Can you teach me how to do what you just did with the walking stick?" I asked him.

"Sure, I could teach you to fence." Danny said.

"Fence?" Connor asked confused.

"It's basically sword fighting. Dad taught me how. We're both pretty good." He said.

"That'd be pretty cool." I say enthusiastically. Danny smiles at us and lets out a laugh.

The bell to end lunch rings. Danny replaces his hat on his head and puts his sunglasses in a pocket on the front of his coat.

"So... never a boring day. What classes do you two have next?" he asks.

"We have Biology with Ms. Jackson, then Poetry II with Mrs. Carlson to end the day." Connor answers.

"Hey, cool. I got the same things." He said as he stood up, replacing everything in his bag, "I won't have to sit through Biology without somebody to alleviate the dreadful boredom. Shall we head to our doom gents?"

Connor and I chuckled and rose to follow him.

As we walked to class chatting animatedly with Danny, Connor and I shared a look and a nod. Danny would fit in with us just fine.

Our duo had become a trio.


	7. Formation of Brotherhood

Connor's POV:

The rest of the day was entertaining to say the least. We were introduced to Danny's special condescending way of insulting people who looked at us wrong. We were introduced to the sassy side that he reserved for adults, as well, during our first class with him.

Biology with Ms. Jackson.

Now, she is probably the most loathed teacher in the school. When Jude and I showed Callie, Mariana and Brandon our schedules and they all saw that we had her for a teacher, they all winced.

"Dude that's too bad, you got the Cryptkeeper for Bio." Brandon had said.

"You might want to make sure you have a pillow for her class." Mariana had joked.

"I need three shots of espresso to stay awake in her class." Callie had said, dead serious.

Our first day in her class, we were horrified to discover that they weren't exaggerating at all. She was an ancient droning fossil of a woman, and it was near impossible to stay awake in her class. Jude and I were convinced that she was being so boring on purpose. She would ask students questions, and when they got it wrong, she would practically insult them.

Now, we sat in class, and Jude and I were snickering at the nauseous look of absolute horror that Danny wore on his face as she droned on and on.

"You alright?" I whispered to him.

"I can feel my IQ draining by the second." He uttered in terror.

Ms. Jackson asked somebody a question.

"YOU! What does RNA stand for?" She barked.

"Uh. I don't know, ma'am." The boy answered.

"Well, you would if you bothered to open a book." She sneered, "I swear, kids these days. I wonder if you are literate at all half the time."

The boy sniffled, and Danny's demeanor again changed. He stopped looking horrified and started looking pissed off.

"Are you kidding me right now?" He deadpanned, "That was uncalled for, madam."

She turned to him, shocked that somebody had spoken up against her.

"I don't expect a foreigner to understand how things work here." She sneered.

"And I don't expect an old fossil like you to understand how things work in the 21st century, but teachers aren't supposed to talk to students like that." Danny sassed, "You're being paid to teach Biology, not make your students cry. If I'd had a teacher like you back in Scotland, they'd have fired quicker than you could speak a syllable."

Jude and I snorted, which had the unfortunate side effect of drawing her attention onto us.

"Something funny, boys?" She sneered.

"No ma'am." Jude said quickly.

"Leave them alone." Danny growled, "Or I'm gonna file a complaint with Vice Principal Adams- Foster. What we she say if she found out you were treating your students this way, her son among them. Hmm?"

She glared at him for a moment before turning back to the white board and scribbling furiously on it.

"Oh, and by the way? RNA? Stands for Ribonucleic Acid. Which is covered properly in the next chapter. Not this one." Danny sassed.

Jude and I were trying desperately not to topple out of our seats. It's kind of difficult when you're laughing so hard.

As we were leaving the class, word spread via text from student to student, and within minutes people were talking about Danny slaying the Cryptkeeper. Danny just rolled his eyes as we walked down the hallway to Poetry II with Mrs. Carlson. He was walking backwards as we walked forwards.

"Why are you walking backwards?" Jude asked him.

"I want to. Besides, it rude to talk to somebody without looking at them." He joked.

When we arrived at poetry, we quickly learned that the only reason Danny was taking this class was because he wanted an easy A. He certainly had the skill for it. He was far better at writing poetry than me. When the final bell rang, we strolled out onto the sidewalk in front of the school. Danny turned to the two of us and pulled out his phone.

"Hey, I'll be right back, okay?" Danny said, "I gotta call my mom and ask if I can stay over."

He walked away with a look of excitement on his face. Jude and I turned to each other.

"So now that we're alone... what do you think of him?" Jude asked.

"He's cool. Protective. Nice. Underneath all the snark, he seems... sad. Lonely." I said, "And did you see how he was with the baseball team? I know the one who threw the fastball. Derek Rodriguez. Nobody has ever been able to catch one of his fastballs before, and Danny caught it and batted it back into his face like it was nothing."

"He's kind of intimidating." Jude admitted, "But underneath all that, he's pretty cool. He just needs friends."

"JUDE! CONNOR!"

Danny rushed back up to us, his iPhone clutched in his grasp. He was smiling.

"Okay, so I talked to me mum." Danny said as he approached us, "She said I could stay the night, since it's Friday. I just have to catch a ride with you, Jude."

"Sounds great." Jude said, "Come on. We gotta go. Momma gets impatient if we make her wait. See you later, Connor."

"See you later Juju." I said, leaning in and placing a light kiss on his cheek.

As the two of them started to walk away, I heard a car horn honk and a loud voice.

"COME ON CONNOR!" My dad's voice exclaimed from behind me, "WE'VE GOT PIZZA TO PICK UP!"

I laughed to myself as I slid into the passenger seat of my Dad's Suburban.

"What kind of pizza?" I asked.

"Only kind worth eating. Meat lovers pizza." Dad said.

I refrained from pointing out the small unintentional innuendo my Dad had just let slip

"So how was your day?" Dad asked, "You seem extra chipper today? No problems with the idiots today?"

"I'm not that lucky, but today was good." I told him, "Made a new friend today."

My dad looked at me surprised.

"Really? That's good." He said, "Who is he?"

"His name's Danny." I said, "He just moved here from Scotland. He's cool. He scared the whole baseball team half to death."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah.

"How'd he manage that?" Dad asked.

"Rodriguez threw a baseball at us. One of his fastballs. Danny snatched it out the air, and batted it back with his walking stick. Hit Rodriquez in the nose. Then he screamed at them. It was awesome. He even stood up to the Cryptkeeper in Bio. You'll like him when you meet him tonight when you drop me off at Jude's."

"Is he... ya know? Gay, like you and Jude." Dad asked awkwardly.

"Yes dad. He's like me and Jude." I said exasperatedly.

"Okay. That's fine." He said.

"This is still surreal." I said honestly, "You not freaking out over this kind of thing."

"Oh please." Dad scoffed, "I walked in on you and Jude making out shirtless three months after you started dating. If I can handle THAT, you having gay friends is about as scary as you cutting yourself shaving."

I groaned.

"You're never gonna let that go are you?" I asked.

"Nope. Probably not." Dad said with a smirk.

The rest of the day flew by at the speed of sound. We went home, ate the pizza, watched TV until it was time for me to go to Jude's house. I grabbed my backpack and followed Dad to the Suburban. Within minutes we were pulling up outside Jude's house.

"Come on, I want you to meet Danny." I said.

I led Dad inside and Stef met us at the door.

"Hey Connor, they're out back waiting for you." She said.

"Thanks Stef." I said.

I led Dad out into the backyard. He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Danny.

"Dad, meet Danny Evans." I said, "Danny this is my dad, Adam Stevens."

"Jesus Christ." Dad said.

Danny was wearing the same black "KGB" ensemble he had wore to school.

"I see what you meant in the car." Dad leaned over and whispered to me, "You sure know how to pick them, don't you?"

"Told you." I said.

"It's nice to meet you, sir." Danny said, reaching out to shake my dad's hand.

"Same to you." Dad said, "Connor told me about how you stood up for them."

"I protect my friends." Danny said simply.

Dad laughed.

"You and I will get along just fine."

Dad stayed for ten minutes before taking his leave. We enjoyed having the house pretty much to ourselves, since Callie, Mariana and Brandon were all away at College. We pigged out on snacks, or at least Danny and I did. Jude doesn't like snacks that much. We cracked up at Danny's myriad of jokes. We convinced Jude to watch the original version of Night Of The Living Dead. He spent half the movie rolling his eyes at the primitive special effects. We were playing video games, and Danny was showing us how to beat a mission in Fallout 4, that neither Jude or I could ever seem to beat.

"So, how long has it been since you stayed at a friend's house?" I asked Danny.

"Long time." He said.

"I could tell." I said, "When you told us your mom okayed it, you were practically giddy with joy."

I hadn't even finished the sentence, when Danny froze.

His shoulders dropped and he slumped. His breathing changed, and his eyes started turning red.

"Excuse me for a moment." He said, and quickly made his escape back to the backyard.

I turned back to Jude, confused.

"What did I say?" I asked.

"I don't know." He said, "Go make sure he's okay."

I nodded and made my way out to the backyard.

Danny was standing in the middle of the yard, and his shoulders were shuddering with sobs. He was staring at something in his hands that I couldn't see.

"Are you okay, Danny?" I asked, now genuinely worried.

Danny jumped, and shoved whatever he was holding back into his wallet, which he then shoved back into his pocket.

"Um. Yeah, I'm o-okay." Danny croaked, his voice breaking showing just how not-okay he really was.

"You wanna talk about it?" I asked.

"No." He said flatly, "I don't."

"Okay. Fine. I won't push." I said, "But if you ever need to talk, or a shoulder to cry on, Jude and I are here for you, you know that right?"

Danny eyed me for a second, before he sighed and nodded.

"I know." He said, "It's only been a month. It's too soon to talk about it yet. Just... give me time, okay?"

"Of course." I said.

Having said all we needed to say, we rejoined Jude in the living room and resumed playing Fallout 4. Danny threw himself into it, starting a new saved profile and just butchering every living thing he came across to vent some pent up emotions.

We played it until midnight. Danny had just mowed down three Super Mutant Masters with an upgraded mini-gun, and he paused the game and saved his progress before handing Jude the controller.

"I'm beat, guys." Danny said, "I'm gonna go to bed, okay?"

"Yeah, dude." Jude said, "We're getting tired too. We'll be up in a while."

"Okay. Goodnight." Danny said.

"Night, man." We said.

No sooner than we heard the door to Jude's room upstairs close, did we turn

"Was he okay?" Jude asked me.

"I don't think so, Juju." I responded, "He was crying. Like, full on sobbing. Something happened to him, and whatever it was, it was really bad."

"Did he say anything?" Jude asked, "Did he tell you anything?"

"Yeah, he didn't say much." I responded, "He said that it's only been a month since it happened and he's not ready to talk about it with anybody yet."

Jude thought about it for a minute.

"Well, when he feels like he's ready to tell us, we'll be here for him." He said.

"Yeah." I said, "I'm glad he's our friend. He's a really cool guy."

Neither Jude and I knew it, but Danny was sitting at the top of the stairs listening to our conversation. He smiled to himself, and slowly and quietly he stood up and went back into Jude's room.

He pulled out a small photograph and stared at it for a second. He kissed the photograph, and wiped away the tear that streaked down his cheek.

"You told me that I had to find others who could help me, Giddy." Danny whispered, "I found two of them. You would've liked them. They would have loved you, as much as I did. I much as I still do."

He stared at the photo. It was a photo he hated, but loved with all his heart. A photo he couldn't bear to part with, despite being a reminder of what happened. Fourteen and a half years worth of memories, happy and sad, flashed through his mind. Danny's composure crumbled, and the overwhelming feeling of heartbreak that had been present, but kept at bay for a month finally overpowered him and he fell to his knees. After a few moments, he forced himself to crawl into the spare bed and curled up under the blanket.

"I miss you, Gideon." He cried, "I miss you so much, beloved."

Danny let go, and cried as hard as he possibly could, the laminated photo still clutched in his hand, clutched close to his chest.

When Jude and I finally came up to go to bed, we found Danny still awake, crying softly, trying to fake being asleep. We shared another glance at each other, but left Danny alone.

It killed the both of us to know that, at the moment, there was nothing we could do to help heal his shattered heart.

All we could do was be there for him. And we would be...

Always.


	8. Danny's Past

Jude's POV.

I sat on the couch in my living room, munching on a slice of leftover pepperoni pizza, waiting for Danny and Connor to get there.

It has been a whole two months since Connor and I first crossed paths with Danny Evans, and within days of knowing him, he had become our best friend. He acted like an overly affectionate, and extremely protective, and loyal older brother (even though he was younger than both me and Connor). Our time at Anchor Beach has already gotten more tolerable, given that Danny's temper frightened off most of our problems (namely the baseball team).

Although, with Danny's addition, we have jumped, or rather have been thrown, headfirst to the top of the Anchor Beach gossip chain, and now we have the occasional annoyance of having people asking if all three of are in one three-way relationship, because apparently you can't hug your best friend, or walk with your arms slung over each other's shoulders and it be platonic. Danny has so far snapped at seven people and counting. Jude and I just roll our eyes and glare at them. The thought of being in a three-way relationship is just fucking stupid.

Some people think that he is secretly in love with me, and others think he's secretly in love with Connor. This particular rumor amused us greatly, and we played a massive prank on the school using the rumor by having Danny very loudly, flamboyantly and dramatically profess his undying love to Connor during lunch one day. It would have been convincing, if Connor and I hadn't been nearly pissing ourselves from the intensity of our laughter. He told us himself later, that while he did love the both of us dearly, it was a brotherly kind of love, and was in no way romantic.

"No offense." He'd said, "But the thought of fucking either of you makes me want to remove my own eyeballs with a salad fork."

We'd both slapped him on the back of the head for that little comment, causing him to giggle dementedly.

At the moment, Danny is not looking to be in a relationship. Connor and I suspect it stems from something that happened back in Scotland prior to his moving to America, which he resolutely refuses to speak about.

After he stayed over at my house with Connor and me the night we met him, we learned that he knows how to sword fight, and he had been doing it since he was a little kid. Connor and I asked him to teach us, and he agreed. We've been sparring with him for about a month now. Connor is better, purely from the endurance he has built up from his years of sports and physical activity allowing him to last longer in a sparring match without getting tired. Neither of us have been able to beat Danny in a match. Even if it's both of us going at him at once, he barely breaks a sweat. He says it's more of a challenge when he's going against the both of us at once while he's only using one sword. We went up against him once while he was using two. I lasted a minute and a half. Connor was able to last for five minutes.

We had been laying on the ground, panting for breath and clutching a stitch in his side after the both of us had just been soundly thrashed by Danny in a two against one match.

"You both did good." He'd said, "Nobody's ever been able to last more than forty seconds before when I've got two swords. You both broke the record."

"What are you?" Connor asked once, "Are you a fucking Jedi or something."

"I wouldn't be a Jedi. I'd be a Sith, get it right man." Danny had shot back jokingly, "I'm too crazy to be a Jedi."

He knows how to speak French and Scottish Gaelic.

He knows how to write sheet music. This is how he managed to win Brandon over. He showed Brandon a couple of pieces he'd written, and Brandon complemented them and said that he'd like to collaborate on a piece in the future, which Danny heartily agreed with.

He can sing pretty much anything, from the Beatles (his all time favorite band, which he convinced Jude and I isn't just a band for old people like Jude originally commented) to Megadeth, to show tunes he could sing it.

He knows how to play regular and bass guitars, and even offered to teach Connor and I how to play bass. Connor agreed enthusiastically, and is a quick learner. He's only been playing it for a month and a half, and he can already play through half the Beatles discography with little problem. I politely declined, because I don't have the dexterity and coordination to play a string instrument.

I couldn't help but think that Connor and I had hit the jackpot when we became friends with Danny.

I was startled from my musing as Connor and Danny thundered through the front door.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED!" Connor announced dramatically, "TO THE COUCH, MY STEED!"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion for a second at the steed comment, but it was soon cleared up and I started laughing when I notice that Connor was on Danny's back.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I bet him 5 bucks that he couldn't run here with me on his back. I lost." Connor said as he dismounted and dropped to the ground. Danny stumbled to the couch and fell onto it face first, breathing heavily.

"You alright Danny-boy?"

"Give me a minute." He choked, gasping for breath, "Your boyfriend weighs a ton."

"That's just muscle." Connor shot back.

"Yet I can still beat you in a wrestling match." Danny returned, "And a sparring match."

"Semantics." Connor said nonchalantly.

"Oh god," I said, "Don't start bickering again. I don't want a headache."

Danny's hand shot out towards Connor.

"Pay up Stevens." He demanded imperiously.

Connor laughed and pulled out a five dollar bill and plopped it into Danny's waiting palm.

"Pleasure doing business with you, brother." He said.

Connor plopped down next to me on the couch, narrowly avoiding sitting on Danny's feet. He kissed me on the cheek as Danny sat up into a sitting position.

"Ugh. You two are sickening in your sweetness," He deadpanned, "I swear, one day soon, I will get myself somebody, and THEN you will suffer like I am."

"Oh, give me a break, man." I commented, "It's not that bad."

"I may have to visit a dentist from the cavities you two are causing me." Danny deadpanned.

"Callie said the same thing last week." Connor started.

"She walked in on us snuggling." I continued.

"Except she mimed barfing as well." Connor added.

"It was very entertaining." We finished together.

Danny glared at us, sending us into a fit of giggles.

"And then there's that! The finishing each other's bloody sentences." Danny said with a playful scowl, "You two are way too perfect for each other."

"How about this?" I say jokingly, "You don't complain about our cuteness, and when you get a boyfriend, we won't complain about yours. Because we all know that you will be the exact same way."

"I know I will be." Danny said, "I'm not even gonna bother denying it."

"How do you know?" Connor asked.

"I was with Gid..."

He stopped talking in the middle of his sentence, choking on the final word, unable to vocalize it. The color slowly drained from his face. His eyes gained a sort of faraway look in them that veiled a thick sadness. His eyes turned red, and a single tear streaked down his cheek. He shook his head, presumably to regain control of his thoughts. His breathing became uneven, the kind of breathing of somebody who is just barely holding back tears.

"Never mind." He said shakily, before standing and rubbing his head.

"Danny?" Connor asked, worriedly.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment."

Danny whirled about and quickly hurried from the room, leaving Connor and I staring after him. I could see tears already coming down his face as he bolted up the stairs to my room and slammed the door shut.

That was the fifth time we had seen him do that, and it broke our hearts to see him like this. After being friends with him for two months, we considered him to be like an older brother to us. Every time Danny almost let something slip about his old life in Scotland, he would sputter to a halt and leave the room for twenty minutes, before returning with bruised knuckles, and red eyes. We knew it was connected to the fact that after a couple months of knowing him, we had never met his family. He said it was for personal reasons that he'd rather not go into, and we respected that. Neither of us wanted to push him into telling us before he was ready.

But we were starting to realize that maybe he needed to be pushed. That, while he didn't WANT to talk about it, he desperately NEEDED to.

"Give him a few minutes, and then we'll go up." Connor said, "Whatever's wrong, we have to get him to talk about it. It's eating away at him. It's killing him."

"I know." I agreed, "I can't stand seeing him like this."

After waiting for ten minutes, Connor and I rose quietly and followed him up the stairs to my bedroom. We pushed open the door slowly and quietly, to find him sitting cross legged on the floor, staring at something in his hands. We crept closer, not wanting to startle him. As we got closer, we noticed that his shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.

"Danny?" Connor called gently.

Danny jumped and spun where he sat. There were tears streaming down his face.

"What's wrong, Danny?" I asked him, "That's the fifth time you've done that. Do you want to talk?"

"No, I-I d-don't w-want to t-talk." Danny stuttered through his tears.

"Danny, please?" I pleaded, "You're scaring us! You NEED to talk about it. It's killing you. We hate seeing you like this. We love you, you can talk to us. Please?"

"It's h-hard." He whimpered.

"We know." Connor said soothingly, "But you don't have to shoulder all the pain, Danny. We can help you deal with it."

Danny stared between us for a few moments, before returned to staring at the objects in his hands. He put them in the inside pocket of his long coat and sighed a deep, suffering sigh...

... And then, at long last, after holding it in for three months, Danny finally shattered.

He broke down into sobs. Loud, wracking sobs that echoed through the house. Connor looked at me in realization, and I nodded that I understood.

Connor and I had heard this kind of sobbing once before.

This was the same way I had cried when Connor caught me cutting myself. When I finally broke down after Jesus died... which meant Danny had lost somebody, and was mourning the loss. We kneeled next to him and wrapped him in a two way hug as he went to pieces. Danny grabbed onto me and sobbed into my chest, while Connor wrapped us both in a hug from behind.

"Let it out, buddy." Connor said to him.

Danny was practically screaming. I had never heard somebody cry so loudly in my life.

We stayed in that position for at least an hour, as he continued to sob as hard and as loud as he could.

When he finally started to calm down, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Stef, Lena, Callie and Brandon were standing there watching. I jerked my head towards the stairs, giving them an unspoken plea for privacy, which they honored with no resistance.

Danny finally stopped sobbing, and we moved away to give him some space.

"Feel better, Danny?" Connor asked.

"Uh... a-a l-little." Danny admitted, "I've been holding that in since it happened."

"Talk to us Danny." I ask him gently, "You know we're here if you need it."

"I know," Danny chokes, his voice rough from the severity of his sobbing.

He cycles his gaze between the both of us, before he timidly reaches out and wraps his arms around Connor and my shoulders and pulls us closer. He places a kiss on the sides of both of our heads, before leaning his head on Connor's shoulder and starting to cry again softly.

"I don't know what I did to deserve the two of you," He choked, his Scottish brogue thick.

"You were you." Connor said simply.

"I love you two." He said, "So much. I love you two like you were me own brothers."

"We love you too." Connor said.

"You are our brother now, Danny." I state firmly, "In everything but blood, not that it matters."

"Which means you can talk to us," Connor told him, "We want to know. We need to know, because we want to help you."

"We can tell you've lost somebody, Danny." I said.

"The only time I've ever heard sobs like that was when Jude lost his older brother Jesus a couple of years ago." Connor said soothingly, "I'll tell you what I told him then. You don't have to go through it alone. Share your pain with us. We're here for you no matter what."

He stared ahead for a minute before reaching back into his pocket and producing his wallet. Shakily, he unfolded it and produced two laminated photographs. He stood, walking only a couple of steps and staring off out the window into the distance. Connor scooted closer to me as we stared at Danny's back.

"You said you lost your brother, Jude?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. Jesus." I said, "I kind of lost it."

"Imagine, for a second, if you lost Connor." Danny cut in, his voice breaking as he spoke, "You fund the love of your life, the person you were gonna spend the rest of your life with, and then they died. What would you do then? What would he do if he lost you?"

I stared at him for a second.

"I... I would die." I said at last, "I love Connor. He's my person. I couldn't live without him."

"Same here." Connor said.

"Imagine that you lost him and his last request was for you to keep going." He continued, "To move on."

Connor and I shared a look.

We shuddered simultaneously. Imagining living life without the other in it was impossible, but imagining a life where the other was dead? It was horrifying.

"I... I don't know what I'd do." Connor said, "That's one last request I don't think I'd be able to keep."

"Then you understand how hard it is for me then." Danny said.

He reached his hand out to us, and allowed us to take the photographs from his grip.

"I lost him..." He said. I was shocked at how haunted his voice sounded.

It took me a second to realize which boy was Danny in the first picture, purely because I had never seen him where anything that wasn't black.

Danny was dressed in a pair of ripped blue jeans that had dirt stains on them, and was wearing a ridiculously oversized graphic t-shirt with graffiti style writing on it, with a hooded sweatshirt covering it. He wasn't wearing any shoes. His brown hair was still long, its curls gone absolutely wild. He was grinning goofily at the camera, his smile innocent and carefree, true happiness radiating from him, something I had only ever seen shadows of in his current self.

My breath caught in my throat when I looked at the other boy in the picture.

Danny's arms were wrapped around the shoulder of a skinny kid who shared his grin, albeit with a tooth missing and tongue sticking out. He was shorter than Danny, who had to hunch over to rest his head on his shoulder. He had long wavy blonde hair that curled at the ends, and he had the purest blue eyes I had ever seen. He was wearing a button up collared shirt, jean shorts, and Adidas running shoes. He had one hand placed on the arm wrapped around his shoulder and he was giving the camera the piece sign with the other hand. I shared a look with Connor, and couldn't help a small smile at how happy the two of them looked.

The second picture showed the two of them, closer to Danny's current age, cuddled up on an old couch, covered up by a large multi color quilt. It was immediately noticeable that the tone of the photo was different. The boy was asleep, and his mouth hung open slightly. Danny's lips were pressed to the top of his head, which was now bald. He had the boy wrapped in a tight embrace, as if he feared the boy would evaporate into thin air at any moment. He was giving the sleeping boy a look of deep affection and care, completely unaware of the photograph being taken. But along with the love, there was fear. Sadness, grief, terror, desperation. There were tear tracks staining his cheeks. I noticed that the other boy looked extremely frail and sickly, and was very pale.

"His name was Gideon Kennedy." Danny mumbled, his voice thick with sadness, "I called him Giddy. I was the only one allowed to call him that, too."

He sniffled, and wiped his eyes furiously.

"These are two of only ten photos of me and him together that I have." He said sadly, "Giddy hated having his picture taken. I had more on my old phone, but the memory got corrupted. I cried for a week after that happened."

We stared at Danny, silently bidding him to continue.

"Giddy was my childhood best friend." Danny said, "My first boyfriend. My only boyfriend."

Connor and I shared a quick look.

"I'd known him since the day I was born." He said, "And he was my everything."

A sob escaped him, but he regained his composure quickly and continued.

"His mom and mine were old friends, and she and her husband were our neighbors. They were like an aunt and uncle to me." Danny said, "Giddy and I were born within hours of each other. Our parents always told us that the first thing we did when me met, at only a few hours old, was smile at each other. There is a picture of me and him at only a month old, and he had a hold of my hand. That picture is worth more to me than gold."

He turned back toward us, a single tear falling down his cheek.

"We were inseparable from the start," He said shakily, still crying softly, "Even as toddlers, we were rarely seen without the other. We were raised as brothers. We realized when we were twelve and we were just starting puberty, that it was more than that. What we felt for each other wasn't just brotherly."

Danny laughed a tear filled chuckle.

"I remember the day like it was yesterday." He said, a watery smile on his face, "I bought him some flowers with my pocket money, and asked him if he wanted to be my boyfriend. I had never seen him smile so wide before. He tackled me and hugged me so hard, and he gave me a innocent little kiss that was as sweet as he was... That first picture was taken about ten minutes after he agreed to be my boyfriend."

He started to lose his composure again, but stopped for a second to calm down before continuing.

"That was the happiest day of my life." He continued, "I know people say that at that age, a person is too young to know for sure whether they love somebody, but that's a load of fucking bullshit. I loved Gideon with all my heart, I still do, and he loved me just as much. Both of our families saw it coming. We were so happy together. It was the beginning of the best years of our lives. We thought we had all the time in the world."

He looked down at the ground.

"But all good things come to an end." Danny mumbled brokenly.

"What happened to him, Danny?" I asked gently.

"W-we were thirteen and half," He ground out, his voice thick with grief, "And he started to get really sick. He could barely get out of bed, and he would get these huge bruises from the smallest bumps. We thought it would pass, but it didn't. So we took him to the hospital. The doctors ran the tests, and we found it w-was l-l-leukemia."

I gasped, and grabbed Connor's hand.

"Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Thas' what they called it." Danny said, his eyes cloudy, the tears falling heavier the more he spoke, "The most common form found in children. They did everything they could. Chemotherapy. Stem cell and bone marrow transplants."

His fists clenched and unclenched as he desperately tried to assert control over his emotions.

"I was a match, so I was his donor." He said brokenly, " I thought I could help. Thought I might be able to save him, but nothing worked. They gave him a month to live. He fought for a year and a half, because I begged him not to give up. I was selfish. He was in so much pain, but I begged him not to leave me. I told him that when he went into remission, I would give 'im our first proper kiss. We'd never actually had one. They were all chaste and sweet. I made him that promise."

I started crying, and a quick glance at Connor confirmed that he had as well. We both were finally starting to understand the depths of Danny's grief. To lose a brother was one thing, but to lose a significant other, who you have known since the days of the cradle, and had never gone two days without contact with, was something else entirely. I couldn't imagine losing Connor to the claws of the reaper. I don't think I could survive that.

"A week before that photo of us on the couch was taken," Danny said shakily, barely suppressing a sob, "They released him from the hospital. The doctors had told us that there was nothing more they could do, and that we should bring him home and make him comfortable. A week after it was taken..."

He was unable to suppress a sob, but he quickly regained as much composure as he could, which wasn't much.

"Seven days, three hours, and twelve minutes later." Danny choked out, "That's how much time he lived after that."

Connor wrapped his arms around me as the first sob escaped from me.

"We were lying down in his bed," Danny sobbed softly, stuttering his words, "Like we had done so many times before. We had the covers over us. He had been acting differently that whole day. While we were laying there, he told me to hold him, so I did. He started crying."

Danny was unable to control his crying now, crying as he spoke.

"I said; what's wrong, love?" Danny said, "He said he didn't want to fight anymore. I asked h-him what he meant. He said he was tired. He said he was ready for the pain to stop. He said the only reason he had clung to life for so long was because he didn't want to leave me."

He gasped a sob and wiped his eyes.

"He was in so much pain, and it could have all been avoided if it wasn't for me and my selfish need to keep him as long as I could." Danny sobbed. "I told him I didn't want to live without him. He told me to promise him that I would keep going on, even if I had to do it without him, even If I had to learn how to live again. I told him that I couldn't do it. He told me that I had to find somebody that could help me. I promised him."

He was slowly losing what little of his composure he had retained by every second that ticked by. Every second he spoke, the worse he shook.

"He told me he loved me for the first time. I didn't hesitate to say it back." Danny whimpered, "I knew. Of course I knew. It was something we both knew. It was just one of those things that you didn't need to put into words for it to be true. He asked me to kiss him, at least once before he was gone. So I did. I held him, and I kissed him..."

His sobs got harder, to the point where he could barely speak.

"It lasted for five minutes. F-f-five sh-short, c-cruel, w-wonderful m-minutes. It was our first proper kiss with another person, and our first and last proper kiss with each other. I knew that the moment was only moments away. I knew I was about to lose him."

Connor and I rose and walked to stand on either side of him. We handed him the pictures, and he stared at the one of them smiling together. His whole body was shaking, so we put our hands on his shoulder and squeezed, trying to give him some form of comfort.

"I felt him let out a deep breath against my lips as I felt him stop kissing me back," He sobbed, struggling to get his words out through his sobs "I p-pulled away, and I looked into his eyes. I-I s-s-saw n-n-n-nothing. He stared straight ahead, unseeing. His eyes... the blue eyes that I loved so much, were dull. Empty. I felt his hand, and it was so cold. He was so pale. He-he w-was g-g-gone. The breath I had felt him let out against my lips was his last."

Neither Connor nor I could stop our own sobs now.

"The only p-person I c-could e-ever t-t-truly l-l-love," He said, sobbing his words out, "D-d-died in my arms, d-during our f-first kiss. I starting s-screaming un-uncontrollably, cli-clinging to his bo-body. His p-parents and m-mine rushed in and pulled me off of him. I sobbed uncontrollably for weeks. A month later we moved here, and I still had no I idea how I was going to live without him."

It suddenly hit Connor and me how recently this had all happened, and how raw the pain still was. Danny turned around and placed a hand on each of our shoulders, giving us a watery smile.

"Then I started at Anchor Beach," Danny said, still sobbing almost uncontrollably, "And that was my saving grace."

"What do you mean?" Connor asked, sniffling.

"I met you two." Danny cried softly, "You were the first two people outside of my family to show me kindness instead of pity. You offered friendship to somebody you had never met. I knew as soon as you both asked if I wanted to sit with you, that you two were special. I knew within ten minutes of meeting the both of you, that I needed you two as friends. Then I went agro on those baseball idiots. Then that night, when I came over for dinner and spent the night, for the first time since Giddy died, I felt truly happy. I felt hopeful. That night, I knew that I wouldn't be able to live without you two either. You both went out of your collective way to make me feel welcome, and accepted, and l-loved. I knew then that our bond of friendship, our bond of brotherhood was one that would never be broken. I really wish he could have met you two. He would've loved you two, as much as I do."

He gathered us both in a hug.

"I never knew I could love two different people as much as I loved him," Danny stuttered, "Even if not romantically, I do, truly, love the both of you so much. You showed me that it was possible to be happy again. To enjoy life again. And I promised myself, I vowed to protect the both of you, no matter the cost. And I will. I will not lose you two. That's why I'm so protective of you two when we're out in public. If I lost either of you, or god forbid, both of you... I would truly have nothing left to live for. You two give me something to live for, and I can't even begin of a way to thank you enough."

We hugged him back and we all broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

"We love you too, brother." Connor gasped out, "Never doubt that, Danny. Ever."

"We always will." I said to him through my own sobs, "I promise, you'll never have to be alone again."

Danny choked out another strangled sob.

We all collectively went to pieces. We curled up together on my bed, holding each other, sobbing, sharing the pain that so desperately needed to be release. We cried ourselves to sleep in each other's arms, and we stayed that way until the Moms woke us up the next day.

"Are you boys alright?" Stef asked worriedly.

"We will be." Danny responded simply, before turning to us, "You guys wanna go to the beach?"

We both nodded and gathered up some stuff to take with us. We were leaving the house when Danny pulled us to the side.

"Wait here."

He pulled out his phone and dialed it. He took a couple of steps away and talked for only about ten seconds.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Um. My parents are going to take us to the beach." Danny said.

Connor and I were shocked, but at the same time relieved that Danny was letting us in even further than he had last night.

"You know my past now," He said, smiling at us, "It's time."

Ten minutes later, a black Chevy Suburban pulls up and a tall, skinny, short haired man, and a short, rail thin but beautiful woman in a blue dress step out and approach us.

"Danny, darling, are you alright?" Mrs. Evans asked concerned, "It sounded urgent on the phone."

"Everything alright son?" Mr. Evans asked, equally concerned.

"Everything's fine." Danny said with a wide smile. He turned around and walked to stand in between Connor and me, "For the first time in four months, everything is just fine."

He put his arms around us, and pulled us close.

"I wanted you two to meet my new brothers. Jude, and Connor." He said, nodding his head towards us in turn.

Danny's parents looked at us with confusion.

"Jude, Connor, this is my dad Richard, and my mum Judith."

They looked at Danny questioningly.

"Why did it take so long to introduce us to your friends?" Richard asked.

"I know you guys have been worried lately, that I never dealt with..." He started to say, but started to choke on his words. He cleared his throat and continued, "...With what happened to Giddy."

His parents gasped.

"Last night, I told Connor and Jude." He continued, "I told them everything. And they held me as I fell to pieces. And then they fell to pieces with me. They shared my pain. They comforted me."

He smiled at both of us before he turned back and addressed his parents.

"I f-finally have s-something in my l-life again, that's worth living for."

Judith and Richard moved forward and wrapped Danny in a hug.

"Oh my darling boy." Judith whispered into her son's hair, "I'm so happy for you."

After releasing him, they turned and wrapped Connor and I in a hug as well.

"Thank you. So much."

When I was adopted, I gained a new family.

With this embrace, I knew that I had gained another.


	9. Mall Brawl and Aftermath

Connor's POV:

We were at the mall, just hanging out and having fun. Two days had passed since Danny had finally confided in Jude and I about his past. About losing Gideon. We spent the rest of the morning after he confided in us at the beach with him and his parents. Judith and Richard were wonderful people, and it was clear that they adored their son and were very worried about him. They pulled us aside about an hour and a half after we arrived at the beach.

"Thank you both for being there for him." Judith had said, "This is the first time we've seen him laugh like that since it happened. If you ever need anything, you need only ask."

They had treated us like their own children, further proof that blood is not a prerequisite for family. They had asked us enumerable questions about ourselves, and were awed by the story of how Jude and I's journey from best friends to being a couple.

"You're both so lucky, to have found the one you love so early in life. Cling to that. Don't let it go, no matter what." Richard had said, looking sadly across the table at Danny as he said it.

Yesterday at school, Danny caught the baseball team glaring at the three of us, before they huddled together and started talking quietly. Danny swore it looked like they were plotting something. Jude and I brushed it off as him being paranoid and over protective. For the rest of the day, and all day today, he has been looking over his shoulder.

From today going forward, I will never question Danny's instincts again, and I was about to find out why.

Jude had just went to the bathroom, but he hadn't returned. Danny had took off to look for him. I was walking to the food court, when I heard a commotion from behind me.

"CONNOR!"

I turned to see a girl from my algebra class running down the hallway at full tilt, knocking several people over in the process. Only at the last second did her name pop into my head.

"Hey Rachel. What's wrong?" I asked confused.

"You need to come quickly!" she said frantically as she slid to a stop in front of me. She grabbed my hand and started dragging me along

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Jude got beat up!" She shouted, "The baseball team! They followed you guys here. They ambushed him and dragged him out into the parking lot!"

Rage. That's all I could feel.

"WHAAAT!?" I screamed.

"Danny saw it, he stepped in and went crazy," She continued, "When I left, Jude was on the ground, and Danny was squaring off with half the team with his walking stick! You have to stop him before somebody gets hurt! GO!"

I ran full speed through the mall, knocking over several people. I paid no attention to the angry shouts that followed me. I only cared about one thing, at that was getting to my boyfriend. I flew through the front doors and hurtled down the sidewalk and didn't stop until I caught sight of them.

They were backed against a wall.

Jude was no longer on the ground. He stood back to back with Danny.

Danny was brandishing the hollowed body of his walking stick in one hand, and the handle in his other hand. Attached to the handle was a three foot long blade. He swung the blade out in wide arcs every time somebody got too close. He was using the body of the cane as a club, and I watched as one of their attackers tried to sneak into Danny's blind spot, to which he responded by pivoting and clubbing the baseball thug in the middle of the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

Jude held his knife out in front of him, shaking like a leaf. He had a black eye and with his free hand he tried to wipe away the blood that was dripping from his nose, while simultaneously slashing out at anybody who got too close.

Several members of the baseball team were on the ground, either unconscious or clutching a body part moaning in pain. Several of them were bleeding from large gashes to various appendages, which I assumed were caused by the blades. I noticed a discarded baseball bat laying next to one of the downed players, so I picked it up and ran through a gap in the crowd to stand next to the other two thirds of our trio.

"Jude, call your mom. Call Stef," I tell him, "We'll hold em off!"

He obeyed, and produced his phone and frantically dialed his mom's number.

Two of the baseball idiots, Jeremy and Noah, moved from either side to stop him, but we intercepted them. I moved and swung the baseball bat at Jeremy, while Danny met Noah halfway.

I swung it, but he ducked and landed a punch to my face, and I could taste blood from a split lip. I swung again, and he ducked again, but this time I was prepared and brought my foot up to connect with his face, sending him careening back into his buddies, knocking them over.

Danny didn't miss. He caught Noah in the side of the head with the body of the cane, sending him to the ground. He kicked him in the stomach as hard as he could, sending him back further.

"Mom, we need help!" Jude yelled frantically into the phone, "We're at the mall! We've been attacked! PLEASE HURRY!"

Another moved forward with a piece of pipe to engage Danny. The player, Jack, swung at his head, but Danny's fencing skills shone through as he blocked the hit. Something flashed in Danny's eyes and he went on the attack. Jack only managed to block two strikes before Danny caught his hand with the blade of the sword, and wacked him in the side of the face with the cane body, sending him to the ground unconscious.

"Come on!" Danny taunted, looking deranged, "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT MOTHERFUCKER!"

Jude rejoined the fray, and was immediately accosted.

"She and Mike are on their way." He said, ducking a punch, and throwing a kick, before slashing out with his knife and sending his opponent scrambling away, "THEY'LL BE HERE IN TEN MINUTES! God DAMMIT! WHERE IS MALL SECURITY WHEN YOU NEED THEM?!"

"WHAT DO WE DO UNTIL THEN?" I asked panicked.

"YOU TEAR THEM A-FUCKING-PART!" Danny screamed, enraged.

Then things got worse.

Two people apiece advanced on Danny and I, pushing us further away from Jude. Danny lost control, and slammed the handle of the sword into the head of one of his attackers. The other threw a punch, but Danny caught the guys arm, and slammed his elbow down onto the arm, shattering the bone with a nauseating snap. I caught one of my attackers in the shoulder, sending him to the ground with a scream, when the other grabbed me from behind. I threw an elbow back into their gut, and whipped around when their grip disappeared, planting two punches into their face.

One advanced on Jude, and Jude slashed at him with his knife. I noticed another, Jason, advance on Jude, who's back was turned to him. I saw something silver, and my eyes widened.

I knew Jason. Hell, everybody in the school knew Jason Cutler. He was a thug, and a coward, who had spent two stints in Juvie. He was older than everybody else in our grade because he always got into trouble that resulted in him repeating the grade. His little brother Nathan was on the baseball team, and was standing in the crowd with the others.

I ran towards Jude to get him out of harm's way, but it was too late.

Jason grabbed Jude, and put the knife to his throat.

"IF ONE MORE PERSON MOVES, MINIFAG HERE GETS IT!"

Out of the corner of my eye I see Danny grind to a halt, his eyes widening in silent terror. I hear sirens in the distance, and I pray for help to come sooner. The rest of the baseball team take off running, the imminent arrival of law enforcement making the situation too hot for them.

"DROP THE BLADE AND THE BAT AND BACK AWAY!" Jason screams.

Danny grabs me by the shoulder and pulls me back, as we both do as we're told. He sheathes his blade and places it gently on the ground, while I throw the baseball bat to the side.

"What're we gonna do?" I ask him, horrified.

It was taking everything I had in me not to charge Jason in a desperate attempt to save my boyfriend.

"I'll figure something out. But we need help." He said shakily.

No sooner had he said it than a police car careened into the parking lot. It slid to a stop and Stef and Mike got out brandishing their guns.

"DROP THE GUNS! OR HE DIES!" Jason screamed, his eyes shining with the light of insanity.

Stef and Mike put their guns on the ground and stepped in front of them, trying to talk some sense into Jason.

"Let him go. You don't want to do this..." Mike tried.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Jason screamed.

Danny pulled me to stand behind them. I looked at him in time to see him glancing down at the gun Mike had just discarded.

"Danny?" I asked, "What are you thinking?"

"When I give the signal, run to Jude." He whispered to me. I look at him worriedly.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Whatever I have to do." He said shakily...

...And he reached down and picked up the gun.

"NO!" I whisper shouted, "There has to be another way!"

"I'm hoping I won't have to use it," Danny tells me, "But if he moves to stab Jude... I won't hesitate. Don't worry. I know how to use it."

He put the gun inside his jacket, and lunged around Mike and Stef.

"LET HIM GO!" Danny screamed at Jason. Jason sneered at him.

"What if I don't?"

Danny's hand flew into his jacket and drew the gun, aiming it directly at Jason's head.

"I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF! THAT'S WHAT!"

Mike and Stef whipped around, realizing immediately that Danny had picked up one of the guns. Stef secured her gun, and readied it. Mike looked sheepish, despite the danger of the situation.

Jason's eyes flew between us.

"I DOUBT YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO USE THAT THING, EVANS!" He shouted.

Danny flicked the safety off, and pulled the slide back. He aimed down the sights, right at Jason's head.

"YOU WANNA TRY YOUR LUCK?" Danny shouted back.

Jason whipped his gaze between me and Danny, then back to Stef and Mike.

He reversed the knife in his grip, and place the tip against Jude's chest, right above his heart.

"You should have kept your mouth shut, faggot."

He raised the knife... and Danny adjusted his aim and pulled the trigger.

The gun went off with an almighty BANG! I felt a subconscious tremor of panic and a slight phantom burn in my foot at the sound. I ran forward and grabbed Jude as Jason fell to the ground, clutching his destroyed hand, screaming. I looked back at Danny, to see him moving towards Jason. He drop kicked him in the chin, sending Jason back onto the ground, dazed.

Danny pointed the gun at his head.

Jason looked up at the gun, right into the barrel.

"DO IT!" He taunted.

Danny stared at him.

"I should." Danny whispered.

"THEN DO IT!"

Danny's hand twitched.

Jude and I stood and walked up to stand behind Danny.

"Don't." Jude says.

Danny keeps pointing the gun at Jason.

'Danny, don't do it."

"He deserves it." Danny snarls.

"He's beaten. He's done." I tried.

"I don't fuckin' care." Danny said.

"He'll be in jail for a long time. Let him go." Jude tells him.

"Jail's too good for this slime!" Danny snarls, "He hurt you two. HE HELD YOU AT KNIFE POINT, JUDE!"

"HE'S UNARMED!" I shouted, "GIDEON WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO DO THIS!"

Danny recoils as if he's been slapped. I know that what I just did was a low blow, as he looks at both of us.

"If not for us, do it for him." I pleaded.

Danny finally lowered the gun. I reached down and picked up his cane sword. We turned our backs and started to walk towards Stef and Mike, who stood twenty feet away.

Danny was walking behind us by a couple of feet, and Jude and I made it halfway to Stef when I heard Jason scream.

I saw him move out of the corner of my eyes. I saw him reach for the knife with his other hand, rise and sprint at Danny. Danny saw it too and whipped around, but it was too late, and Jason was upon him.

Jason threw a kick to Danny's chest, and Danny fell to the ground. The gun flew from his grip. It landed just out of his reach. He reached for it, and then Jason was on top of him. I could see Jason's mouth moving, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

I saw Danny's eyes widen, and with a scream of rage and horror he threw a punch at him, knocking him to the side. He crawled frantically towards the gun, and grabbed it. He rolled over.

Jason stood over him with the knife in his good hand and raised it above his head for a killing blow.

A final gunshot rang out.

Jason dropped to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

There was a single bloody hole were one of his eyes used to be.

Danny freezes in place. He glances at the gun, and screams in terror before chucking it as hard as he could. Danny crawls back frantically, and Jude and I rush to meet him. Mike moves to retrieve his weapon. He holsters it and proceeds towards Jason's body. Stef and I help Jude and Danny towards the police car as quickly as we could.

She opens both of the rear doors of the patrol car. Jude sits on the driver side, Danny slides into the middle seat, and I slide in next to him. Jude and I put an arm around Danny's shoulders as he starts shaking. Stef sits in the driver seat and radios for backup and an ambulance before turning to us.

"Are you boys alright?" She said calmly, but I could see the horror and worry in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to do that." Danny whispered.

He looked horrified with himself.

"I didn't... I didn't want to kill him." He whispered frantically.

"We know." I said to him, my arm around his shoulder.

"I just... I just reacted!" Danny murmured.

"We know, Danny." Jude tried to placate him.

"He was going to kill Jude, and then he was on me, and I wasn't thinking, you have to believe me!"

"WE DO!" She rushes to assure him, "You're not in any trouble, sweetie. Don't worry. It's was self defense. The car's dash camera will show that. It recorded the whole thing."

Jude wrapped Danny in a fierce hug.

"You saved my life." He whispered to him.

Danny looked him in the eyes.

"I told you before," Danny said, "I told you after I told you about Giddy that I would protect you both, no matter the cost. I was serious. I owe you two everything."

I put my hand on his shoulder, and squeezed.

"You saved Jude's life, Danny." I told him, "You'll never owe us anything again. WE owe YOU."

Jude nodded his head in agreement. A single tear streaked down Danny's cheek as I hug him too.

"Thank you." he said, "My brothers."

We tightened the hug as Mike got in the car.

"Ambulance and backup are here," Mike says, "I called Lena and told her what happened. Let's get them home. She's frantic. The kids are about to have panic attacks."

Jude's POV.

I sat in the back of the police car with Danny and Connor, I stared out the window into the distance, reminiscing about what had just happened, wondering at the same time just how much lower our reserves of luck could possibly get.

I had got jumped. I had got FUCKING JUMPED.

We had brawled with the baseball team. We had been forced to fight them... hurt them.

I had been held at knife point.

Danny had been forced to kill somebody in self defense.

Danny would live with that for the rest of his life.

I shivered heavily.

"Are you boys okay to tell us what happened?" Stef asked.

"I was just going to the bathroom. I was making my way back to the food court to meet up with Danny and Connor when they grabbed me." I tell her.

"I noticed he was gone for too long," Danny said slowly, "I smelled a rat, so I went looking for him. I found them beating the crap out of him, and stepped in. Drew my sword and started swinging. Couple of minutes later, I saw somebody we knew from school, screamed for her to go find Connor."

"She found me, and told me, and I took off running to get to them," Connor continued, "Danny and I held them off while Jude called you for help. We took down most of them, and then Jason grabbed Jude while he had his back turned. The rest of them ran and ten seconds later you showed up. You all saw what happened next."

"Where did you get a sword like that?" Connor asked, "I knew they made sword canes, but I'd never seen one before."

Danny smiled a small smile.

"It was Gideon's." He said simply.

Our eyes widened as we stared at the sword.

"You... you aren't going to take it from me are you?" Danny asked worriedly, "This thing means more to me than just about anything. It's one of the only things I have left of him."

"No, sweetheart. We're not gonna take it." Stef said, and Danny released a sigh of relief.

We rode the rest of the way in silence. We pulled into the driveway of the Fosters household. As soon as the car is in park, we all hastily made our exit. Connor and I settle in on either side of Danny, and he flings an arm around each of our shoulders, pulling us close to him. We get about halfway to the front door when the door opens and Callie, Brandon, Mariana, and Lena sprint toward us. I step forward and allow my siblings to embrace me.

All three were frantic, and crying hard. I had never seen Brandon cry like that before. Not even when Jesus died.

Lena turned and embraced Connor and Danny.

"Thank you." She whispered to them.

Meanwhile, my siblings pulled out of our embrace. Brandon reached and grabbed me in another hug.

"You scared the fuck out of us, Jude." He muttered shakily into my hair.

"I'm sorry." I croaked.

"Momma and Dad tore out of here like hell was on their heels, then ten minutes later dad calls telling us it was you three." Brandon continued.

"We thought it was you that was killed." Mariana cried, "Until mom sat us down and told us it wasn't."

"We were so scared, kiddo." Callie said, squeezing my shoulder before turning to Danny and Connor, "Thank you for protecting our brother."

Danny nodded. Connor just stared blankly ahead, shaking. Callie turned back to me, and I could tell the questions were about to start.

"What happened?"

Sure enough.

"I was going to the bathroom. I was making my way back to the food court to meet up with Danny and Connor, when they grabbed me and dragged me outside. Danny came looking for me. Found me with my back against the wall, and jumped in, drew a sword out of his cane. I went for my knife. We saw somebody we knew passing us, and we screamed for her to go find Connor. We held them off till he got there, then they held them off while I called Stef. We held them off together until... well, until Jason got me."

"How many times have I told you not to run off on your own?" Callie shouted.

Here she goes. I know I shouldn't be irritable with her, but all the stress of the day starts to set in and I couldn't stop myself from snapping at her.

"Do NOT START WITH ME!" I scream back, "Back off! I'm barely keeping it together right now as it is!"

She recoils like I slapped her. I immediately feel bad for snapping at her.

"Sorry," She said, tears welling in her eyes, "I was just worried. You could have died, Jude. I couldn't handle it if I lost you. I barely got through what happened to Jesus. If it was you..."

"I know," I say shakily, "I'm sorry."

Danny and Connor walked up to stand by my side. Connor threaded his fingers through mine, and gripped my hand tightly, as if I'd evaporate if he released me.

"Let's go in the house." Lena said, "We can talk more inside."

I look to Connor and Danny, and take a good look at them.

Neither of them look like they are in very good shape. Danny was shaking almost uncontrollably, and he had a cut on his left eyebrow and right cheek, as well as a split lip and a bruise forming under his right eye. Connor was shaking equally as bad as Danny, and he looked like he was moments away from a complete breakdown. He had a black eye, a split lip, a bloody nose, and his hair was an absolute mess. His flannel shirt was ripped on the side.

"Can, uh. Can somebody call my dad?" Connor muttered quietly.

"Where is he?" Lena asked.

"He's in L.A visiting my grandparents, so he won't be here till tomorrow." Connor responded, "I would have gone with him, but my grandparents and I aren't on the best terms because I'm dating Jude."

"Call me ma and dad too," Danny said, "Tell 'em I'm fine. Tell them I'm not leaving Jude and Connor. Tell them I'll be home tomorrow and to be ready."

Lena nodded and pulled out her phone before going back in the house.

We all go in the house, and head into the living room. Danny plops down in a chair, and Connor and I sit down heavily on the couch. Connor curls up into my side and wraps both arms around me. I start playing with his hair as he softly starts to cry.

Lena reenters the room, followed by the rest of the family.

"Your dad is on his way, Connor." She said, "He was already in the car by the time I hung up the phone. He'll be here in about three hours, if there's no traffic on the Five. Danny, your parents told me they wanted you home before three p.m. tomorrow, and be ready for a lot of questions."

Connor nods. Danny doesn't give any indication of having heard her words.

"Alright guys," Stef interjects, "Let's give these three some alone time. They need it."

Everybody leaves the room, leaving just us three to sit in silence.

We sat there for a couple of hours, just trying not to panic about the events of the day. Danny and I at least are able to control ourselves. We are able to keep ourselves together.

Connor is not.

Connor's shaking gets worse, and his crying becomes sobbing.

"You alright?" I ask him gently, mentally slapping myself at the same time

"Of course he's not alright, you moron. Just look at him." I thought to myself.

He shakes his head.

"It's starting to hit me," He choked through his sobs, "T-That I almost l-l-lost y-y-you."

"But you didn't." I said in an attempt to console him, "I'm okay, Connor."

"He had you around the neck with a knife to your throat, Jude." Danny interjected, "He was going to kill you. He had the knife raised and ready. Do you have any idea how scary that was?"

I flinched.

"I know that, alright?" I say to him, "I am well aware of what just happened, Danny. When I felt that knife at my neck, I was more scared than I've ever been in my life. My life, literally, flashed before my eyes. But I'm okay, apart from cuts and bruises. Right now, I'm just more happy to be alive, and that all of us are alright. We're all alive! It's the only thought that's making it possible for me to keep it together. He didn't kill me. YOU saved me, Danny. You both did! It'll probably hit me later today, and you two can help me when I break down."

"Of course we will." Connor said, sniffling as his sobs calmed.

He reaches up and strokes my cheek. I look down at him and look him in his eyes. He leans up and kisses me, hard.

In that kiss I could feel every emotion he was feeling.

Anger and Rage.

Fear and Terror.

Worry and Relief.

He pulled back and stared into my eyes again. A single tear fell from his eyes.

"I w-was so s-scared, Juju." He said shakily, "I saw him head for you, but I didn't react quickly enough. I was still fighting my own two. If I'd only been a little faster..."

"DON'T!" Danny shouted.

Jude and I both jumped violently at his sudden exclamation. Danny leapt from his chair and kneeled on the floor in front of us.

"Do NOT, blame yourself for this." Danny said sternly, "It was NOT your fault. It all happened in a split second. The only way you could have got to him in time, is if you had the ability to Apparate like they do in Harry Potter. Do you have that ability?"

"No." Connor answered flatly.

"Then it was not physically possible for you to react fast enough." Danny ordered, "Don't beat yourself up. You know what they say, Connor. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty."

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I asked him.

Danny's eyes became unfocused, and he did not answer. He stared off into space. A tear fell from his eyes, and he exhaled a shuddering breath. He quirked his lip into a small smile.

"Giddy's dad." he answered.

My eyes widened. Even though he had revealed to us what had happened with Gideon, other details about his life in Scotland were few and far between. It was still too painful for him to talk about in any form of detail. When he did talk about it he almost always ended us crying a little bit, even if it was about a happy memory. This was the second thing he had revealed in just a single day, the first being that the cane sword once belonged to Gideon.

"He was a professional competition shooter." He continued, wiping the tear away, "A marksman of the highest caliber. He taught both of us. I was always best at it. Gideon hated it, but he considered it necessary. I can use anything from a muzzle loader up to a belt fed machine gun, even if I am a bit rusty."

He stood from where he was kneeling and sat down next to us on the couch.

"I probably could have handled that better." He said quietly, "I didn't meant to kill him."

"We know you didn't Danny." Connor said, sitting up and looking at him.

"I just reacted to what he said to me."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What do you mean? He didn't say much to you." Connor asked him.

"He said it when he knocked me down." Danny continued, "He said when he was done with me he was going for you two. I reacted. I grabbed the gun and fired a blind shot at him. I didn't think it would hit him in the eye. All I knew was that I had to protect you two."

"I'm wondering. What do you think is going to happen to the rest of the team?" I asked.

"Not all of them wanted to be there." Danny said simply.

"How do you know that?" Connor asked.

"Jason's little brother Nathan and his two buddies were among them. I could tell from the look in their eyes that they were horrified and didn't want to be there." Danny explained, "When they scattered, they were the ones who ran the fastest. They'll probably get off lightly. The others? They'll be in a heap of trouble."

"You're damned right they will be." A deep voice says from the doorway.

Our gazes whip towards the voice, to meet the gaze of a disheveled, worried, and extremely furious and vengeful Adam Stevens.

Connor flew at him at a speed fast enough to break a land speed record. Connor collapsed into his arms and started sobbing. Adam clung to his son so hard, I was surprised Connor could breath.

"I came as quickly as I could." He whispered shakily to Connor, "I'm so glad you're alright, buddy."

He turned his head to look at Danny.

"Thank you for protecting them."

I couldn't help the spike of happiness I felt, when I heard him say 'them'. It made me feel good to know that Connor's dad actually cared about my wellbeing as much as Connor's.

He turned to me.

"You okay Jude?"

"Yeah. For now, anyway." I answer, "It hasn't really hit me yet."

Mr. Stevens stayed for an hour and a half, barely leaving Connor's side the whole time. He talked with Stef and Lena about starting a lawsuit against the ones who attacked us. The three of us gladly gave him the names of those involved, save for the ones who Danny said were unwilling participants. Adam gave Connor a tight hug before he left, telling him to be home by three the next afternoon.

After he left I looked at the clock. It said it was 9:00 pm. I looked over at the other two.

"Is anybody else exhausted?" I asked.

They nodded.

Connor, Danny and I all headed up to my room. We took turns using the bathroom to change into our pajamas. Connor went first, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. I went next, changing into a pair of checkered pajama pants, leaving my shirt off. Danny just stripped down to his boxers like he always did. He couldn't sleep if he wore pajamas to bed. He'd told us this the night of his first sleepover with us. It shows how comfortable we all are with each other when it doesn't faze us a bit.

I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I slept peacefully for a few hours before it devolved into an nightmare.

The dream started out normal enough.

I was late for school and I couldn't find my socks. I stumbled down the stairs, and walked into the living room. I asked Lena if she knew where they were. She said they were in the laundry, and I went to fetch them before returning to living room.

Blood was everywhere.

Connor and Danny were laying against the wall, surrounded by a pool of blood.

I scream, and I blinked.

Stef and Lena's bodies appear.

I blink again, still screaming.

Mariana's body appears.

I start to scream louder, and I blink again.

Brandon and Callie appear.

I blink again, sobbing loudly as Jesus's bloody body appears.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I whip around. Jason is standing there with the knife. The knife flies toward my face.

I awake with a scream. I fly out of the bed...

...And right into Danny, sending us both to the floor.

I stare into his shocked face.

"Nightmare?" He asks.

I nod shakily.

"Us too." Connor's voice said.

I get off of Danny and turn to see that Connor was awake too, sitting up in bed. He slid off the bed and wrapped me in a hug.

"You alright Jude?" He asks me gently.

I start crying softly.

"I saw all of you dead." I muttered, "You and Danny. Then Moms, then Mariana, then Callie and Brandon, then J-j-jesus."

Connor inhaled sharply. Danny cracked his neck.

"Then I whip around and he's there. I woke up right as he swung the knife at my face."

Danny wraps the both of us in an embrace.

"He's gone." He tells me, rubbing our backs in comfort, "He's dead. I made sure of that."

"His cronies won't get away with it either," Connor said soothingly, "Dad, Stef and Lena will make sure of that. We'll be okay."

"We're safe, Jude." Danny says.

We stand there in our embrace for ten minutes.

"Let's push the beds together." I say, breaking the silence.

"You sure?" Connor asked.

"I doubt moms would mind, and I doubt I can get back to sleep without you two next to me."

"We probably won't be able to either." Danny said in agreement.

We pushed the two beds together, and curled up. We quickly fell asleep, and we stayed that way until we were discovered by Stef and Lena the next morning.

One nightmare was over... but we couldn't help but wonder if another was about to begin.

I don't know how much we'd be able to handle.

Then again, with Danny and Connor at my side, I think we could handle anything.

It still felt like we were preparing for a war.

None of us knew that fate was preparing to intervene once again, by bringing in somebody new.

Somebody that could finally completely heal the damage to Danny that Gideon's death had caused.


	10. Harrison O'Reilly

Danny's POV:

It's the first day back at Anchor Beach after we were attacked. It's kind of hard to believe it's only been two days, and three nights since it happened, when it seems like it's only been an hour. It's been two days and three nights since I was forced to kill somebody in self defense. I don't actually remember much of Jason and my one on one fight. My mind is blocking out a lot of it. All I can remember is him saying that when he was done with me he was going after Jude and Connor. The next thing I remember is him hitting the ground, and me realizing what I'd just done and chucking the gun across the parking lot.

Connor, Jude and I slept at Jude's house the night it happened, and my place the night after. We slept at Connor's last night. It's almost like we're scared to leave each other's company right now. Kind of makes me glad that Jude and Connor's classes are all the same, and that they are in three of my six classes. I can already tell that I'm gonna have trouble getting to lunch without having a panic attack.

Jude hasn't slept well since it happened. It doesn't take a genius with Einstein's IQ to figure that out. The bags under his eyes are growing. Every night, he woke up from a nightmare and every night, Connor or I comforted him and helped him get back to sleep. Every night, the nightmare got worse. The second night, he dreamt that Jason had killed Connor and I in front of him. The third night he dreamed that neither Connor or I showed up to help him and he was beaten to death. Both times he woke up screaming.

Stef, Lena, Connor's dad, and my parents felt it would be good if we continued our lives as if the ambush never happened, and to let them worry about it. We agreed. They didn't disappoint us when it came to bringing the people responsible for our injuries to justice. They told us this morning before we left for school that every willing participant that went against us in the brawl had been arrested and was being charged with attempted murder. It offered us barely any comfort at all.

We walked to school together. Well, I was limping, but you get the point. We walked into Anchor Beach at 7:00 am, just like we had done countless times, but this time it was different. This time, we were being watched. Everybody was staring at us as if we were time bombs with a timer stuck on one second left. Every time we approached a group of people blocking our path, they parted like waves at the feet of Moses.

"I can tell already, that the fucking staring is gonna get bloody irritating." Connor growled as he noticed.

I looked at him with a strange look because of his wording.

"You're hanging out with me too much," I said, try to make a joke, "You're both starting to sound like me."

Jude snorted, before he returned to his new favorite activity: glaring at everybody.

That's one new thing Connor and I've learned about him recently. When Jude doesn't sleep well, he really IS a ticking time bomb. It isn't just because of the incident, according to Callie. According to Brandon, Jude once threw a punch at him because he tried to wake Jude up after only getting four hours of sleep. Connor joked that it's kind of good to know that after dating him for two years he can still find out new things about him. Jude just rolled his eyes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

We made it to lunch without me or Jude killing anybody.

Today's surprise was about to unveil itself.

We were all walking along talking. I was walking backwards chatting away with them like I usually do, about a stupid assignment from my French class. I was complaining animatedly about the ridiculousness of the assignment, which was to translate a poem from English to French. I complained about how, being British, I didn't really like the French, and shouldn't be forced to learn their blasted language because the school's curriculum requires one foreign language credit to graduate.

"You didn't have to take French, dummy." Jude deadpanned, "You could have taken Spanish. I think you can take German too. Why didn't you take one of those?"

"Have you seen how hard German is to learn?" I exclaimed, dumbfounded, "DO you want to know what the German word for nurse is?"

"What is it?" Connor asked.

"Krankenschwester."

They both looked at me, eyes wide with alarm.

"Are kidding me?"

"Nope, dead serious." I responded, "If we ever get into a brawl again, you want them to think your deranged, you know what you scream?"

"What?" Jude asked.

"Du wirst eine Krankenschwester brauchen." I said, "You're saying to them: You will need a nurse. Basically telling them you're gonna put them in the hospital while simultaneously sounding like Richtofen from Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies..."

It was at this point that I turned back to look in front of me and I collided with a solid object.

"Really, Danny?" Connor chided exasperatedly as he started gathering together some of the stuff that had been sent flying by our collision.

"Dammit. Why do I always knock people down when I'm not paying attention?" I growl.

I look down at the poor bloke I'd just ran into. He was trying to organize the small stack of papers that I'd accidentally knocked out of his hand. I couldn't see his face, because it was being concealed beneath his long blonde hair. I shook my head and knelt down to help him collect his things.

"That's not always a bad thing." Connor said.

"Yeah, you knocking people over? That's how you met us. That turned out alright." Jude finished his boyfriend's thought, "I mean, you did save our lives."

"And you saved mine..." I said to my best friends before turning back to the stranger.

"I'm so sorry mate." I tell the strange boy. I try to study his face, but his blond hair was covering his face, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's fine." He said, "I wasn't watching where I was going either."

I could hear a slight southern accent in his voice.

"You new?" I asked lightly.

"Yeah, just sent here from Georgia." He responded, a tone of bitterness in his voice.

I handed him his books, and he shook his hair out of his face. I finally looked upon his face.

I froze for a second, and my eyes went wide at what, or just who, I was seeing in front of me.

I leapt back away with a startled yelp at what I was seeing.

Blonde hair.

Pure blue eyes.

Small, goofy smile.

I gasped.

"B-bloody h-hell."

The guy looked at me funny, as if I was about to snap and kill somebody, before turning his attention to Connor and Jude, who were also gawking at him.

The reason I was startled by his appearance, is because this guy looked exactly like Giddy would have looked if he hadn't d-died. The two were completely identical. The only difference I can notice is their voice. I was beginning to have trouble thinking a coherent thought.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"What? Nononono, can't let him think that. DON'T SCARE HIM AWAY DANIEL!" I thought to myself frantically.

"NO!" I yelped, making the poor kid jump,

"Dammit, self. I said NOT TO SCARE HIM!" I thought to myself again.

"Sorry. No, you didn't do anything." I said, this time speaking like a person still in possession of at least a small quantity of sanity, "You just look... you look remarkably like somebody I used to know. It's uh, the resemblance is uncanny actually."

"Oh. Sorry." He said timidly.

"Stop apologizing, mate. You've done nothing wrong. " I tell him softly, before standing up. I reach out a hand to him, "Lets getchya back on your feet, yeah?"

He looked at my hand cautiously, but after a moment he accepts my hand and I pull him to his feet.

Another difference to add to the list. This kid is cautious, and doesn't trust too easily. Gideon wasn't like that.

I offer him a small smile.

"Thanks." He says, offering me a small smile, "It's good to know that, uh, not everybody here is as much of a dick as some of the people on the bus on the way here."

"You'll get used to it, I did." I tell him, "These two were the first two people I spoke to. Ran into them and nearly knocked one of them over, just like I just did you. Worked out good in the end. We saved each other's lives. I love 'em both, even if they do drive me up the wall sometimes..."

He laughed.

I shivered.

Good god. He even laughs like Giddy did.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh, uh sorry." He said, holding his hand out to shake mine, "Forgot to introduce myself. The name's Harrison. Harrison K. O'Reilly. You guys can call me Harry."

"Name's Daniel. Daniel Evans. That's Connor Stevens, and his boyfriend Jude Foster." I tell him, accepting his handshake, pointing to Jude and Connor in turn. He shakes their hands as well, offering them a small smile.

"Adams-Foster." Jude corrects.

"It's nice to meet you, Jude, Connor and Daniel."

"Oh, uh, call me Danny. I feel like I'm about to get chewed out when people call me Daniel." I said sheepishly.

"Danny, then. Okay. Are all three of you..." Harry asked awkwardly, "Gay?"

"Yeah." Jude says defensively.

Harry nods, before he smirks.

Wow. That's a look I've never seen made by that face. Gideon never did that.

"My adopted parent's would be pissed if they knew I was talking to you three." He says, "Good to know I'm among friends."

I nod at him in understanding.

"They homophobic?"

"Huh." Harry snorted, "I don't know. Does sending their adopted son to the other side of the country to live with his reluctant step-uncle so they don't have to deal with him after he came out as pansexual count as homophobic? If so, then yeah. Extremely."

Connor growled irritably, causing Harry to jump.

"Sorry." Connor said to him, "Homophobes are one thing I can't stand."

"I should fly you guys out to Georgia and visit them, then." Harry said viscously, "They would have an aneurism if they met you three. I mean, they go through all the trouble to adopt a baby from Britain, then dump him 15 years later for something so stupid. They deserve everything that comes to him."

"Yeah." I said, smiling at him, "Uh, do you want to sit with us?"

"Yeah, sure."

We all went and sat at our table, Harry sitting next to me.

"So, you said you were born in Britain?"

"Yep, Scotland." Harry commented nonchalantly, "December 3rd, 2000."

"That's the same birthday as me." I said.

"Really? Sweet." Harry said, smiling at me.

"That fucking smile..." I thought to myself, "Is this really happening right now?"

We spent the rest of lunch getting to know him. Harry had a great sense of humor. It was a dirty sense of humor, too. He told us a joke that resulted in Jude inhaling a large quantity of his drink up his nose, and Connor turning an interesting shade of red. None of us had any classes with him, so we made plans to hang out with him after school.

When we met up after school, Harry didn't even bother calling his uncle for permission.

"That fat asshole doesn't give a fuck about me any more than my adopted parents do." He said venomously when asked about it, "He's probably drowning himself in booze right now."

"It's only three o'clock."

"If he's awake, he's got booze in him." Harry deadpanned, "If I wouldn't end up homeless, I'd move the fuck out, I swear to god."

We walked to my house, and I noticed that the place looked empty. We walked inside

"Go ahead inside and wait for us, okay?" I asked Harry, "I gotta talk to them about something really quick."

"Okay." Harry said before heading inside.

As soon as the door closed, I turned around to face Jude and Connor, and the calm friendly mask I had been maintaining for almost the whole day gave way to another expression. A slightly frantic expression that bordered on panic.

"Holy fucking shit." I exclaimed quietly, "Is this really fucking happening?"

"Are you okay?" Jude asked me, his face creased into a worried expression.

"I don't really know!" I whisper-shouted hysterically, "Probably not! I mean, why would I be? I mean, there is only a fucking carbon copy of my beloved dead boyfriend in my house's front parlor, waiting for us to come inside! Same looks, same fucking birthday, same birthplace, same fucking laugh! I'm surprised I'm keeping it together this well?"

"How similar is he? From what we've seen so far?" Connor asked.

"What, personality wise?" I asked, recieving a nod, "Personality wise, he's completely fucking different. He seems sarcastic, cautious, has a dirty sense of humor, and he's pissed the fuck off at his adopted parents. Giddy? He was blunt, didn't get sarcasm at all. He wasn't cautious at all. He hated dirty jokes. He couldn't stay angry for more than twelve seconds..."

"What are we gonna do?" Connor asked.

"We'll get to know him, of course." I said, "He needs friends right now, just like I did when I first met you two."

"All right. If it gets to be too much..." Jude said.

"I know. Trust me, I know." I said, before turning to head into the house.

Harry was standing against the wall waiting for us.

"Nice house." He commented, "Better than the one I used to live in."

"How bad was that?" Connor asked.

"Ha. Run down shack, basically." He deadpanned as we moved to stand in the dining room next to the table, "Wasn't always like that, but it is now. After the parents started drinking and doing other shit, the place fell apart, and so did they. Anyway, enough about me and my miserable life. What about you? You mentioned that they were boyfriends. You're a good looking guy, you have anybody special?"

I froze and stared at him for a second before shaking my head once.

"Um... No. Not anymore." I said stiffly.

Harry immediately looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me to ask..."

"No it's fine. Don't worry about it." I said quickly, "It's funny... That's actually why you startled me so much."

He cocked his head to the side at my confession.

"Whaddya mean." Harry asked curiously.

"It's just... well... you look really similar to him. Actually, you're fricken identical. You look exactly like him." I said with a small laugh.

Harry's eyes flicked to the left for a second, before they widened to gigantic size before looking back at me.

In his eyes, I saw... recognition?

Wait, what?

"Do you have a picture, by any chance?" He asked, a strange tone

I nodded, before reaching into my pocket and pulling out my wallet. I withdrew the photo of Giddy and I together before he got sick. I handed it to Harry, who took it gently.

"See?" I say to him.

He looks at the photo, and gasps.

"ohmygod." He whispers, ghosting his fingers over the picture. His hand starts shaking and he sits the picture down on the table. A single tear falls down his cheek.

"I'd known him since the day I was born. His name was..." I started to say.

But I was cut off... by Harry.

"Gideon?" He whispered, still staring at the photograph sitting on the table.

My head whips around to look at him, my eyes wider than they had probably ever been in my entire existence. Jude and Connor were staring at him, their eyes as wide as mine.

"His name was Gideon Kennedy." He whispered, and another tear fell. He blinked it away.

"How did you know that?" I ask him quietly. He looked me up and down, his eyes widening in further recognition.

"It's you. I knew you looked familiar." He said. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He handed it to me.

It was a picture taken by a Polaroid camera. It was also an exact copy of the photograph I had handed him.

I looked between the photo and Harry quite a few times before I was able to summon the words necessary to speak.

"H-h-how do you have this?" I ask him sharply.

He looks at me cautiously.

"HOW?" I ask him again, starting to panic slightly. He sighed, before sniffing and wiping his tears away.

"The K in my name stands for Kennedy." He whispered, "That's the only picture I have of my twin brother."

I gape at him.

Jude and Connor gape at him too.

I stand up and turn to look out the window. I run a hand through my hair. Connor and Jude moved to stand next to me. They could sense that I was close to a breakdown.

"Twin Brother?" I stutter, "Giddy was your twin brother?"

He nodded slowly.

"J-Jude?" I whimpered.

"Yeah?"

"Get that chair behind me, now. Please?" I asked quickly.

He did as I asked, so that when I started falling backwards, I fell into a nice chair instead of banging my head on the table.

"How the hell did you end up adopted and in Georgia?" I asked. It was the first thing I could think of to ask.

"I've been here since I was three months old. I don't know much, but I was told that my birth parents weren't very financially stable when Gideon and I were born?"

"That's true. They were barely scraping by." I confirmed, "They got better jobs when Giddy and I turned six and things got better for them."

"They could only afford to keep one of us." Harry continued, "So they put me up for adoption. This American family, the O'Reilly's, adopted me within like, a month. Then they moved back to the States."

I sighed, and ran my fingers through my hair.

"I never actually met Gideon." Harry continued, "Hell, I only ever spoke to him once on the phone. Parents found out and beat the crap out of me. He used to write me letters. He sent me this picture. It came with a letter."

He pointed to his copy, and produced a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

I unfolded it, and the first sob escaped me at the sight of Gideon's handwriting.

"Dear Harry, June 3rd, 2013," I read, "I'm sorry to hear that your parents aren't getting any better. It really sucks that they treat you that way. I would talk to my mom and dad about it, but I doubt there would be anything they could do. You asked if anything new was happening on my end. There is! I have a boyfriend now! He was born the same day as us, so I've known him my whole life. I really love him, Harry. He's the best. He asked me out yesterday. He gave me flowers, and asked me to be his boyfriend. Enclosed is a picture that my mom took of us about ten minutes later. I gave him the other one. he carries it in his wallet. It's so cute. I'm writing you this letter before I get ready for our first date. He and his parents are taking me to see a movie, but the stubborn dork won't tell me which one. I may sound ridiculous, but I know I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with him. I've never been happier in my entire life! Love always, Gideon Kennedy."

I shakily handed it back to him.

"He was right." I whimpered, "He did spend the rest of his life with me."

"I was ten when I received the first letter." Harry said quietly, "He wrote continuously for a couple of years. I still have them all. I remembered to bring them with me when I came out here. The last letter he sent, he said he was really sick. He said he probably wouldn't write again for a while. About a year and a half later my step-parents tell me he's dead. 'Good riddance' they said. I'd never cried so hard in my life."

He sat down next to me, and I put my shaking hand over his and squeezed.

"I always wondered who he was always writing to all that time." I said softly, "It was you."

He looked up at me.

"What did he die from?" Harry asks.

I stare at him for a second before answering.

"It was cancer." I tell him, "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. That's what the doctor's called it."

I reached into my pocket and once again, extracted my wallet. I pulled out the other photo and handed it to him.

"This was taken a week before he... before he died in my arms." I tell him.

"You... you saw him die?" He said, barely choking back a sob.

I nodded, and he reached out and pulled me into a hug. I clung to him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Danny." He whispered. "Was he in a lot of pain?"

"Yes, but he died in bliss." I tell him, crying softly. Harry pulled back and looks at me questioningly through tear filled eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"He died during our first kiss." I said, still crying softly, "First real one anyway. First one with tongue. I wanted to wait until he was better, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get better, so his last request was to kiss him, properly, once before he died. I couldn't refuse. It would have been cruel to deny him that."

Harry started sobbing harder and pulled me back into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry." Harry quietly said to me again.

I open my mouth to try to respond, but nothing came out.

"He said in his last letter, that as long as he had you at his side, he'd be okay. He told me that he hoped I would find that someday too." Harry said, barely holding back tears, "He sounded like such a nice guy. I wish I could have met him."

"He would have liked you," I tell him through my own tears, "He would have loved you. I can tell you that much. He was such a great guy. He was so kind, so compassionate. He would give his last scraps of food away if meant somebody else wouldn't starve. He had a light in his eyes, that I can see in yours too. He really didn't deserve to die so young. We can only hope he's up there watching us."

"I hope so too." Harry choked out.

I sat there, just hugging him, trying to comfort him.

"I could tell you more about him, if you'd like." I offered through my, "I've got fourteen years of wonderful memories of him that I could share with you."

Harry looked at me and nodded, smiling through his tears.

"Yeah. I'd love that. I can show you all the letters, too. If you want." Harry offered.

"I'd love that." I said, echoing his response to my offer.

He pulled my into another hug.

"It would make me really happy to have you as a friend." He sobbed into my shoulder, before pulling back to look me in the eyes, "I am really glad that he had you. It sets my heart to rest to know that he somebody so special to look out for him."

I started sobbing too.

"Thank you." I tell him through my sobs, "That means a lot to me."

It was at that moment, that I felt the crushing weight that I had felt on my heart since Gideon's death lift from my chest. With Harry's arrival, I finally am able to get the closure I always needed. I can finally move on.

I will always love Gideon, with all my heart. But I know he's up there, watching over me, and I feel like I can finally fulfill my promise to him.

I can finally allow myself to be truly happy again.

From my grief, I am finally free.


	11. Reminiscing

Danny's POV:

It's been a month since Harry came into the fold, and already I cannot imagine our group without him. I think Jude and Connor are worried about me though. They're worried that I'm gonna fall for Harry because of the fact he looks just like Gideon. They are worried that I am falling for a ghost. Truthfully, their worries are unfounded, and completely ridiculous.

I mean... don't get me wrong, I AM falling for Harry. But it's not because he looks like Gideon. At least it isn't anymore. He may look like him, but as we've learned, underneath he's a completely different person.

He's sarcastic, and condescending when he wants to be. He had the Cryptkeeper in a different hour than we did, and apparently she decided that since Harry grew up in Georgia, he had little to no intelligence, as is stereotypical of a redneck. He proceeded to cuss her out in Gaelic, and then insulted her using insults that were twelve words long. He got a week's detention, but it was quickly revoked when he went to Monte and Lena and demanded that the old crone be fired for her attitude towards the students, and for discrimination based on regional stereotypes. The next day, the Cryptkeeper was no longer a teacher at Anchor Beach. Harry became legend. He had so many people approaching him to offer their thanks, that eventually he got sick of it.

Of the four of us, he is by far and away the most impatient. The four of us went to a restaurant about a week ago, and we saw this for the first time. The waiter told us the food would be out in fifteen minutes. When sixteen minutes elapsed and no food was presented to our table, it was all we could do to stop Harry from marching into the kitchen and bitching out the staff.

"It's not worth it, Harry." Connor had said, "They're remaking your food properly, you don't need to get so upset."

"I'm not upset, I'm furious." Harry deadpanned, "There is a huge difference."

He is more than willing to throw a punch at somebody when they say the wrong thing in front of him, for instance when he knocked one of our classmates on their ass because they said the word 'Queer'. It was kind of embarrassing for Harry because the kid explained he was referring to himself as being Queer in the context it's used in the acronym LGBTQ, meaning that he didn't identify himself as gay, straight, bisexual or transgender. Harry was extremely remorseful about it, and had helped the boy to his feet and set about apologizing at a thousand miles an hour. The kid understood the misunderstanding and assured him there were no hard feelings. Harry still felt bad about it though, and bought a really high quality chocolate bar and put it in the kids locker with a note of apology.

He can lie through his teeth better than anybody I have ever met. He can look people in the eye, and tell the a lie, and the person would never know it wasn't true. The guy has no tell. At all. Suffice it to say that a game of poker with him would be... most stimulating. He's already told Connor, Jude and I, however, that he found it impossible to lie to us.

Did I already mention he has a dirty, and slightly dark sense of humor? I think I did. He is the king of inappropriate jokes, and some of them are just terrible.

"I don't know if I should say this one. It might piss Jude off." Harry had said.

"Just say it." Jude had deadpanned, "But I reserve the right to punch you."

"Fair enough. What do you call a burning cop car?" Harry had asked us.

"What?" Jude has asked in return.

"A barbeque grill." Was the punch line. Literally, because Jude punched him. In the face.

"Told you." Harry had said after rolling his jaw as Jude glared at him evilly.

Jude got his revenge later that day by putting wasabi into Harry's sushi.

Another example is when Connor  accidentally spilled his drink on me during lunch a week later.

"Fuck! Connor!" I shouted in exasperation.

"That's probably the first time anybody but Jude has shouted that..." Harry leered suggestively. 

It took a second for us to get the underlying meaning of the comment, but when we did I started laughing, Jude turned a interesting maroon color, and Connor tackled Harry and wrestled with him in the   grass until Harry begged for mercy.

He is extremely competitive as well, as we found out. We were playing online multiplayer Black Ops II today, and I have never heard a person swear so much in my entire life. It was also how we all discovered he could speak in different accents.

"DIE YOU BLASTED SACK OF RUBBISH!" Harry screamed as he mashed the fire button on his controller while we watched with amusement.

He glowered at the screen.

"This guy is driving me crazy." Harry said... In a Scottish accent.

My reaction to this was, of course, nearly falling off my seat for obvious reasons. Jude and Connor caught me and stopped me from falling any further.

He exited out of the game and turned to me, suddenly looking concerned.

"Are you okay, dude?" He asked, worry in his eyes.

I glanced at Jude and Connor to discover the same look of worry in his eyes.

"Um. Yeah, it's just... you sounded almost exactly like Gideon when you did that." I revealed, "The accent thing, I mean. It just startled me. I also noticed that you've pretty much dropped the southern accent you had when we met you. I mean, I've lived here longer, and my own Scottish accent is less pronounced now, but it hasn't disappeared like yours has."

"Yeah. Sorry about startling you." He apologized, "It's something weird I can do. One second I can be speaking like you guys, and then ze next I vill slip into a German accent and sount like ze stereotypical German mad scientist."

"Hey, it'll be useful if you ever become an actor." Jude pointed out.

"OH. Speaking of... you know. I brought a couple of the letters with me." Harry said, reaching for his backpack, "You did say you wanted to see them."

"I believe I promised some stories as well." I added, "Yeah, if Jude and Connor don't mind."

"No go ahead." Connor said, "We want to ne of the stories too."

"All right, give me a second to think of one that won't reduce me to a quivering wreck." I said, and began wracking my brains, "Um... Oh yeah, there was this one time in fifth grade that I convinced him to help me prank our teacher."

"What did you guys do?" Harry asked.

"We rigged a balloon filled with paint to pop when she opened her desk." I said, smiling softly, "Everything in it got ruined. Giddy felt so bad afterwards, he slipped some cookies into her bag the next day as an anonymous apology."

Harry laughed.

"I wouldn't have bothered with an apology." He said, chortling, "Especially not with my teachers back in Georgia. I probably would have got caught because I probably wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face."

"Yeah." I said, "You said you brought some of the letters?"

"Yeah. There's one I want you to read first." Harry said, and after a second he pulled out a small envelope.

He held it in his hands delicately, before reaching out to hand it to me. I took it, my hands trembling as I accepted the letter.

"This is the last letter he ever sent to me." Harry said quietly, "Do you want to read it?"

I shook my head in the negative as I exhaled a shaky breath.

"I don't think I can handle reading it." I confessed.

In fact, I know I couldn't. I know for a fact that having to read it myself would most likely end in tears and bruised knuckles. As if sensing this, Connor jumped in.

"I'll read it if you want me to." Connor offered.

"Will that be okay?" Harry asked.

I nodded, and Harry handed the letter to Connor.

Connor looked at me for a second, before taking a deep breath.

"You sure you want to hear it, Danny?" He asked me.

"Do it. Before I lose my nerve." I commanded softly.

"Dear Harry, June 5th, 2014," Connor began to read, "I will try to explain as much as I can. I will not be able to write to you again for quite some time. I am sending this letter from a hospital bed in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I am very sick. So sick that don't know if I'll survive to see New Years or not. The doctors are trying everything they can to make me better. My other half is about a jiffy away from having a complete breakdown."

'Boy was that the truth.' I thought to myself.

"He doesn't think I can see it, but I always know how he's feeling." Connor continued reading, "I don't know what he's gonna do if or when I'm gone... I don't know. I'm not too scared, to be honest. As long as he's at my side, I'll be fine. I know he'll be by my side until the very last second. He's already made that promise, along with a couple others I don't know if he'll be able to keep."

'Half of them I failed to keep.' I thought distraughtly to myself.

"He promised we'd make out for the first time when I went into remission." Connor continued reading, "I thought he was joking, but it turns out he's serious. I apologize in advance for not being able to meet you in person, just in case the worst comes to pass. Love always, your twin brother, Gideon."

A single tear trailed down my cheek. I took a shuddering breath.

"Even when faced with the reaper, he wasn't afraid." I said quietly, "He always did say he wasn't afraid to die. He said he was afraid of the aftermath, and what would happen to the people he left behind."

"I'm sorry Danny." Jude said shakily, "I still can't believe you went through this. It's horrible."

"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy." I agreed, "It's not something I'll ever be able to fully recover from. It haunts my dreams. One second it'll be normal and then the next, I'm back in that room, clinging to his dead body, screaming at the top of my lungs."

"I wish there was something more we could do." Jude said sadly.

"You three do the best thing you can do." I consoled, "You're always there to pick me up when I fall down. If it wasn't for you guys, I would be even more of a broken mess than I already seem to be."

"You're not a broken mess." Harry cut in sternly, "You are a wonderful person, who something terrible has happened to. That's what all of us are. All four of us."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused at his wording.

"I'm the kid who was rejected, abused and later abandoned by his adopted parents for his sexuality." Harry said.

"I'm the abused former foster kid who lost his real mom at the age of six." Jude said.

"I'm the kid who's mom who wants nothing more than to see me burn in hell." Connor deadpanned.

"You're the kid who lost his childhood best friend turned boyfriend to leukemia, and somehow still manages to keep going without wrapping a rope around his neck." Jude described.

It was a short, but frighteningly accurate description of me. 

"All four of us, we need each other." Harry continued, "You guys are the closest thing to family that I have left."

A thought struck me.

"What if I could fix that?" I asked him.

"Huh?" Harry asked.

"I still have contact with Gideon's parents." I continued, "Your birth parents. I could out you in contact with them if you want."

Harry stared at me, his eyes wide.

"You'd do that for me?" He whispered.

"Everybody deserves family." I said, "It would be my pleasure."

Harry wrapped me in a tight hug, and after a moment, I could feel him start to cry.

Holding Harry on my arms, I felt at peace as I comforted him.

Sitting here with my brothers and the boy I was falling in love with, I swear I could feel the final crack left behind by Gideon's death seal itself shut.

I was healed, and I finally felt complete again.


	12. A Second Chance

Jude's POV:

It's been five months since our trio became a quartet with Harry's arrival. As was already said, Harry fit into the group like he had born with a place on the roster. His protective, sarcastic nature continued to perfectly complement Danny, Connor and I. With opposition from the baseball team finally quelled, the outlook on the rest of the year finally felt optimistic. Now that Harry was brought into the fold, any potential opponents amongst the rest of the schools population realized that it was foolish to try anything against us.

Also, as we found out from a frantic call from Mariana, somebody had been filming the mall brawl at the mall. It was taken on a camera phone, and it begins right as Danny finds me and jumps into the middle of the fight and draws his sword, and lasts until Jason comes at me and holds me at knifepoint. It was posted to the school's Facebook page, and everybody at the school had seen it. Then the vague details of what happened after the camera stopped filming got out, and most of the school avoided even making eye contact with us.

Jude and I overheard a couple of kids talking about us once, about a month ago.

"Are they really as bad as people say they are, Jason?" One boy asked.

"Yes, they really are." Jason answered seriously, "Did you not know what happened, Jack?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"The baseball team went after them." Jason explained, "Jumped Foster at the mall, and Evans jumped in and held them off until Stevens could get there to help. Foster ended up getting held at knifepoint, and in the end the guy holding him got killed. You should watch the video, man. It's ridiculous. I swear, man, Evans had moves like a fricken Jedi. It's frightening."

"Like a Jedi?" Jack asked.

"That cane he used to carry around? It had a sword in it." Jason explained, "He was practically dueling with the team. He had the sheathe in one hand as a blunt instrument, with the blade in the other."

"Wow." Jack said.

It was at this time that we chose to make our appearance, which sent them scrambling away at high speed.

It took a while for Harry to get used to being famous just for associating with the three us, but he still never batted an eyelash. His intellect made for stimulating conversation and debates, that could result in ridiculous three hour long planning sessions for world domination. He was also one of the kindest people I have ever met, always offering to help if somebody needs it.

During this time, I have noticed that Danny's behavior around Harry has subtly started to change. The looks Danny would give him when he thought he wasn't looking, and the way he would blush when he got caught looking by Connor or me. It didn't take a genius to notice that Danny was starting to fall for Harry, and that concerned me.

Summer vacation had begun, and our eighth grade year at Anchor Beach had finally, at long last, come to an end, and I stood at the fridge watching Danny and Harry interact on my couch. Danny was sitting on the couch with his feet kicked up on the coffee table, with Harry's head resting comfortably in his lap. Danny was stroking Harry's hair slowly, looking at him with a soft smile. Harry laid there, relishing the contact, enjoying the soothing effect it had on him. I am snapped from my musing as Connor walks past me to get a soda from the fridge. Taking advantage of my boyfriend's closer proximity, I grab him by the arm and pull him toward the back door. We walked out into the grass and I turned to him, with a serious look on my face.

"What the heck, Jude?" He grumbled irritably, "I needed a drink."

"Connor, we need to talk." I tell him when we are safely out of Danny's hearing range, and I'm sure he's not eavesdropping on us.

Connor's facial expression changes in a millisecond, adopting a slightly frightened look on his face.

"You're not breaking up with me are you?" He asked frantically, "Because if I did something wrong..."

_'Oh for god sake... really babe?' I thought to myself._

"NO! I'm not breaking up with you, dummy! I need to talk to you about Danny." I tell him quickly.

His eyes widen and he nods, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh. Okay. Good. That's a relief. I see where this is going now, it's about..."

"Danny and Harry." I confirm, "I'm worried about Danny. Really worried."

"You see it too then?" He asks me, "The way he looks at him. The way he is with him?"

"Yeah, he's falling for him." I tell him, a cautious tone in my voice, "And he's falling for him hard."

"Is that such a bad thing, though?" Connor asks.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Danny deserves to be happy, and Harry's a genuinely nice guy." Connor elaborated, "I've never Danny as happy as he is when he's around. Harry's good for him, and Danny's good for Harry."

"So what do you suggest?" I asked.

"Maybe we should just let it play out and not interfere." Connor answered.

"I know. I know," I respond, "But Harry is Gideon's identical twin brother."

"Yeah, so?" Connor asked.

"I'm worried that... I'm worried that Danny's falling for a ghost, or something." I explained, "I can't tell if he's falling in love with Harry FOR Harry, or because he looks exactly like Gideon."

"Oh, yeah. I see what you mean." Connor said thoughtfully, "I don't know, I think he's smarter than that to be honest. He knows Gideon is gone."

"Which is painfully obvious to all of us." I interjected, "Gideon died in his arms..."

"... And Danny's accepted that, and Harry is the one who's helped the most to move past it." Connor continued, "He's given him the closure that the two of us couldn't give him. He's given Danny a chance at true love again, which is something the two of us could definitely never give him."

I nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Besides, maybe this a sign, Juju." Connor reasoned, "If Danny wants to go for it, and Harry's willing... who are we to try and stop it?"

"I'm not suggesting we try to stop it," I clarify, "I'm just saying, we should talk to Danny and make sure he's doing this for the right reasons. Make sure he's really falling for Harry, and not Gideon's ghost."

Connor pondered my point for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Fair enough." He says, "But we need to tread carefully. We don't want to push too much. Let's go back inside."

We walked back in the door, linking hands on the way, and walked back toward the living room. We stopped short in the doorway, when we heard Danny and Harry talking inside. Connor and I shared a look.

"Eavesdrop?" I ask in a whisper. Connor nods and smirks.

We peaked around the corner to watch what was happening, and saw Danny grinning goofily at Harry. It made me smile. Before Harry came along, the only time you saw Danny smile like that was in a picture of him and Gideon together as kids. I shared a look with Connor, who flashed a smile at me as well.

"Anyway, um." Danny said, his tone suddenly sounding nervous.

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

"I need to ask you something, Harry." Danny continued nervously.

"Shoot. What is it?"

Danny sighed a deep sigh, trying to settle his nerves.

"Oh god, what did you do now?" Harry snarked.

Harry had sit up, and Danny was looking away.

"I haven't done anything, at least not yet." Danny said.

"Okay, then what is it?" Harry said with a nod.

"I'm really glad we met." Danny said.

"So am I." Harry said, sounding slightly confused, "These past few months with you, Jude and Connor have been the best I've ever had."

Danny turned to look back at Harry...

And slowly, ever so slowly, he leant in, and their lips met softly as Danny kissed him.

Connor and I had to cover our mouths to muffle the gasps we let out.

"oh shit." Connor mumbled quietly, "he actually did it."

"shhhh." I hissed quietly.

Danny pulled back and stared into Harry's shocked face. Danny's face dropped, and he turned away again.

"I'm sorry." Danny said quietly.

His shoulders slumped and he slid down off the couch onto the floor, pulling his legs up to his body and leaning his chin on his knees.

"I shouldn't have done that."

Harry still sat on the couch stunned. Slowly, he brought his fingers up to touch his lips, before exhaling a shuddering gasp. His eyes sparkled as he looked down at Danny, and slid off the couch to sit next to him.

"How long have you wanted to do that?" Harry asked, shakily but gently.

"A couple of months now." Danny mumbled.

Harry nodded, before taking Danny's hand in his gently and sighing.

"I just want to make sure, Danny." Harry said, "I'll admit that I like you. I like you a lot."

"Then what..." Danny interrupted.

"...but I need to know that you like me for me, and not because I'm Gideon's twin." Harry continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"I know you aren't Gideon, Harry." Danny assured, "And...okay, at first, I'll admit, that was one of the big reasons why I wanted to get close to you. But after a couple of days, hell a couple of hours even, I started to notice things about you that were different, things that I liked. Things that made me start liking the new person behind the familiar face."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Harry asked.

"Well for starters, you're the most sarcastic person I've ever met." Danny said.

His blunt answer was enough to startle a laugh out of Harry.

"And, you know what?" Danny asked, "I love that! I really do. I love having somebody who can give worse than he gets."

"What else?" Harry asks, "One thing isn't enough."

"You're so smart." Danny tells him, "Like ridiculously smart. You could probably graduate early with how smart you are. Gideon was smart, but you're like... a genius. You're so full of life... even when you're grouchy in the mornings."

Harry smiled at him, a small blush sweeping over his cheeks.

"And you're so kind." Danny continued, "Just like he was. Compassionate, and loyal to a fault. But unlike Giddy, if somebody crosses you, you're not a afraid to cut some bitches."

Harry guffawed at that.

"And I like that." Danny continues, "You're polite, but you're not afraid to get sassy. Giddy didn't get sassy. He was polite to everybody no matter what they said to him. You're impulsive, you're stubborn, you're capable of getting angry. He never got mad. You do get mad. And I'm man enough to admit that it's hot as hell when you do."

Harry laughed and pushed Danny's shoulder playfully.

"Stop." he laughed.

"I'm only saying it because it's true." Danny said to him, with a small smile.

Harry looked him in the eyes and returned the smile.

"You may look like Giddy, Harry." Danny continued, "But underneath, you're your own beautiful, stubborn, impulsive, compassionate, feisty, sassy, WONDERFUL person. I thank God every day that I'm lucky enough to have you in my life as my friend. Even if it never goes any further than that, I'm already the luckiest boy in the world."

Harry looked at him, with a pondering look on his face under the smile.

"One of the last things Gideon said to me," Danny said, "Was that he wanted me to keep living, even if I had to relearn how. Connor and Jude have helped me start to learn that I NEEDED to live again. So I lived for them. YOU make me WANT to live for myself again. Nobody else has done that, but you. My heart swells when I'm around you. I have fallen for you so hard, that I can hardly stand to be apart from you."

Harry made his decision.

He put a finger to Danny's lips, silencing him before he lent in and returned Danny's kiss, which Danny returned almost desperately.

I couldn't help but smile. They kissed for about twenty seconds before separating. Both were gasping for breath, and their faces were flushed and their eyes wide with emotion.

"I have never felt anything like I did during that kiss." Harry whispered, leaning his forehead against Danny's, "And I'd be lying if I told you I didn't have feelings for you too."

Danny smiled softly, gripping Harry's hand in his tightly.

"And yeah, I know there are some people in the world who might think this is a bad idea. That this is unhealthy," Harry said breathily, "But, if you want to... if you feel like you're ready to be in an actual relationship again. If you are ABSOLUTELY sure... then I'm more than willing to give it a try."

Danny's smile widened to the point where it looked like his face was going to rip. He giggled ecstatically,

"Yeah." He said, practically bouncing in his seat, "I'm ready. As for what everybody would think? To hell with them. I don't care what they have to say. As long as you're mine, nothing else matters to me."

Danny pulled him into a hug. It lasted for a few moments before they separated.

"You realize that you're stuck with me now, right?" Danny asked jokingly, "You've said yes, no take backs."

Harry laughed.

"Oh no. Whatever will I do?" Harry joked, still laughing.

After Harry stopped laughing, they turned towards where Connor and I were standing.

Crap. Busted.

"You two might as well come in." Danny hollered, "I know you've been eavesdropping this entire time."

"Dammit." I whispered to Connor.

"You should have known that he knew." Connor snarked back.

"Don't start." I said, poking him playfully in the side in his ticklish spot, smirking in victory as he emitted a rather girlish squeak.

We stepped into the room.

"What do you guys think?" Danny asked us, "About this."

He gestured between him and Harry, and their joined hands.

"Well, it's not our decision." I tell him.

"No, it's not." Danny agreed, "It's our decision and ours alone... but that doesn't mean I don't value my brothers' opinions." Danny said.

Connor and I shared a look.

"We had some concerns at first, we'll admit." Connor started.

"But we think you deserve to be happy..." I continued.

"And all the things we had questions about just got put to rest while we were eavesdropping." Connor finished.

"If you two are happy with each other.. then that's really all there is to it." I say.

Danny and Harry stand and move forward, where we meet in an embrace.

"We're really happy you've found somebody to love, Danny." I tell him.

They break the embrace with us, and Danny turns and hugs Harry tight to him.

He places a soft kiss to Harry's forehead.

"Yeah, me too." He said, giving Harry a goofy grin.

He reached out to Connor and I and pulled us back into the group hug. Danny released a shaky breath, and turned in the embrace to stare out the window, to the sky that was on the other side. He made the sign of the cross, touching two fingers to his forehead, chest, and then his shoulders.

"I've finally healed, Gideon. I've finally healed."

He blew a kiss to the cloudless blue sky, and with that kiss, Danny finally let go of his pain, and his sadness.

He was, as he said, finally healed.


	13. Camping Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Combination of the original chapters 13 and 14.

Jude's POV:

The rest of the year, and the summer after eighth grade passed by fast, with a myriad of events taking place.

Not even two days after Harry and Danny officially started dating, Danny arrived at my house, where Connor, Harry and I were waiting patiently. He was carrying a laptop.

"What's with the computer?" Harry asked, affecting a Scottish accent as he spoke.

That's one thing that's changed about Harry recently. If he speaks, it's either using a Scottish accent, or a Californian accent. It's split pretty even at 50% of the time for each. It's a quirk that Danny just adores.

"Fulfilling a promise I made." Danny said softly, before sitting the laptop on the kitchen table and opening the screen, motioning for us to stand out of view of the screen, but allowing us all to catch a glimpse of what was on it.

A Skype call.

On the screen were a man and a woman. The man was bald with a thick mustache. He was muscular, built kind of like a lumberjack, but had a gentleness about him. The woman was plump, but she practically radiated kindness. She reminded me kind of Mrs. Weasley from Harry Potter. The resemblance was uncanny, actually.

"A'ight, Danny." The man said first, his brogue thick, "Now what is it ye wanted to show us?"

Harry stiffened where he was standing at the Scottish voice. He immediately started trembling.

"Must say we were surprised to hear from ya." The woman said sadly, "Haven't heard from ya since ya moved."

"Aunt Caroline, Uncle Jack, meet Harry." Danny said, obviously trying not to cry.

The man and women on the computer screen stared in awe at Harry.

"Harry," Danny said softly, "Meet your mom and dad."

Harry stared at the screen, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Good god." Caroline and Jack muttered, equally in disbelief.

He slowly reached out to touch the screen, his hand shaking.

"M-mom? D-dad?" Harry stammered tearily.

Thousands of miles away, in Edinburgh Scotland, Caroline and Jackson Kennedy started to cry.

After that, Harry was told he could Skype, or Face-Time them at any time he wanted. He took full advantage of that. As soon as he turned 16, Harry applied for emancipation. He won his case, and had his name legally changed. As he held his new ID, months later, Harrison James Kennedy cried as hard as he ever had in his life. For the first time he could remember, the tears were tears of joy, and overwhelming happiness.

As that summer passed quickly, so did the first two years of high school.

Connor was able to rejoin the baseball team in Freshman Year, since it was an entirely new starting line-up because of the old team's decision to ambush and try to kill us. In sophomore year, he made the varsity baseball team. Apparently that's hard to do as a sophomore? I don't know. He came up to me after finding out and hugged me so hard he lifted me off my feet while Harry and Danny mimed barfing behind us. Once they found out the reason for Connor's actions, they too mobbed into the hug.

That was the first of two years that we had a championship winning baseball team, with Connor hitting the winning homerun during the final game of the first championship. We lost the championship this year. Connor had a really bad case of the flu and missed the final game. I was happy for him, but baseball consumed a lot of his time. It led to us spending less and less time together. Eventually, he started cancelling more and more of our plans, until eventually I got irritated and in sophomore year it led to our first real fight...

Which turned into a two hour shouting match, and us breaking up.

Yeah. Shocking, isn't it? We actually broke up for a short time.

The breakup shocked everybody. The whole school was in shock. During the first two weeks of that long month and a half long period, Connor and I avoided each other like the plague. We didn't speak, and if we saw each other in the hallways, we turned and walked the other way. Harry and Danny were caught in the crossfire until they couldn't take it anymore. They ambushed us and locked us in an unused classroom at Anchor Beach, and told us to, and I quote, get our shit together and pull our heads out of our asses. We sat in silence for about twenty minutes before Connor spoke.

"What are we doing, Jude?" He asked brokenly, "How did we get here?"

"I don't know." I admitted, "But this can't keep going on. I miss you. So much."

"I miss you too." He said, giving me a small smile, "I'm sorry, Jude. About sidelining you like I did. It was wrong. You were my boyfriend, and I put my sports before you, and I shouldn't have done that."

"Friends, at least?" I asked.

"Definitely." He said.

We shook on it. Then we hugged on it. We didn't kiss.

We didn't get back together right away, much to the disappointment of others. It took another whole month for that to happen. I wanted to make sure that we could still get along just as friends, let alone boyfriends. I mean, If we couldn't be just friends like we were at the very start without killing each other, then how the hell would we be able to be boyfriends again.

We were sitting in my living room, watching a movie. It was a boring fricken movie, too. Connor fell asleep during the first hour. In his sleep, he cuddled up to me on the couch. I tried to wake him up.

"Connor, wake up." I hissed.

"Nooo. Too comfy. Judicorn pillow, hmm." He mumbled sleepily.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at him. It was moments like this that I had missed. Moments like this that I realized I still wanted.

I still loved Connor, and that was never going to change. Which meant there was only one thing left to do.

"Connor?"

"Hm?" He asked sleepily.

"I think I'm ready."

"For what?" He mumbled.

"I want... I want us to be boyfriends again." I said.

He lurched back, now fully awake, and stared at me for a second.

"A-are you serious?" He asked hopefully, "Like... seriously?!"

I stared back for a second.

"Yeah. I am." I assured, "If you still want to..."

He continued to stare, until suddenly he burst into tears and was lurching forward and capturing my lips in a kiss which I greedily returned.

"Of fucking course I want to." He whispered, smiling, his lips still pressed lightly to mine.

When we walked into school the next day, hand in hand, the reaction from Danny and Harry was the same as the rest of the school.

"It's about fucking time." Danny and Harry had deadpanned.

After getting through all of this, Connor and I grew closer and closer. He made time for us, and baseball was no longer the priority. It was during this time that I started going to his game to cheer him on and discovered the delicious sight that is Connor Stevens wearing baseball pants.

Hey. I'm a teenager. Hormones raging, man.

Danny and Harry were still together. It was good to see them so happy together. We all got our driver's licenses just in time for spring break to arrive. Danny announced that he and Harry were gonna fly to Scotland for the duration of the break, and introduce Harry to the rest of his family, as well as give him a chance to meet his birth parents in person. This was a big deal, because before Harry came into the picture, Danny said on multiple occasions that he would never return to Scotland.

Just shows how far Harry has brought him.

The day before we saw them off at the airport, Connor announced he was taking me camping for three days. I immediately looked at him as though he had grown a second head, while Danny and Harry had immediately gotten frightening grins on their faces and excused themselves to plot.

"I'm I the only one who is slightly terrified by the look on their faces a second ago?" Connor asked.

"Nope. Definitely not." I said.

The slimy bastards refused to say a thing when they returned. Later that day, I caught Danny, Harry and Connor talking in hushed whispers about something, and again they wouldn't tell me what it was. Connor merely said it was a surprise he planned for me for the second day of the trip.

Anyway back to the here and now, and right now I stand just inside the door of the house, talking on the phone to Danny.

"How's Harry liking Scotland?" I asked him.

"He loves it here." Danny said, his voice sounding a little shaky, "I got pictures of him meeting his parents in person for the first time. He broke down in tears. I'll show you when we get back. He's nervous to meet the rest of his family, as well as the rest of mine."

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Y-yeah... we're just, uh... about to go see Giddy's grave." Danny said softly, "It'll be the first time I've been there since his funeral."

"Oh." I said, "I'll let you get to that then."

"Thanks brother." Danny said, before his voice turned sly, "Enjoy the camping trip."

I walk back outside to stand next to Connor's old black Chevy Suburban, while watching my boyfriend attempt to stuff a metric ton of camping equipment into the back of the SUV. He had purchased a brand new tent just for the occasion, as well as a small grill that can be set up over a camp fire. Plus he was bringing an air mattress, blankets, pillows, our suitcases with clothes in them, swimming stuff, electric bug zapper, and the cooler with food and soda. Add the fact that Connor had overhauled the sound system and installed new Kicker brand bass speakers in the back, and that the speaker cabinet took up a decent amount of space, it was a tight fit.

"I cannot believe you managed to talk me into this, Connor." I say to my boyfriend, who is busy grinning at me like a massive adorable dork.

"Hey, it's just camping." He shoots back, "We've been camping together before, so how bad could it be?"

"DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!" I squeak.

"Like what?" He asked confused.

" _How bad can it be!_ " I sputter, _"_ That's giving fate a green light to let slip the dogs of war and ram our asses with a metal spike!"

He looks at me funny.

"You've been reading Danny's Shakespeare again haven't you? Because Mark Antony says the whole dogs of war thing in Julius Caesar." He asks me, highly amused at my choice of words, as well as my being slightly superstitious, which was rare.

"Actually no." I correct him, "This is one from Harry's collection."

"Speaking of the duo, you heard back from them yet?"

"Yep." I tell him, "Just got off the phone with them actually."

"How's Harry liking Scotland?"

"Oh, he loves it." I told him, "Danny said that he broke down in tears when he hugged his parents. They were calling me before they went to Gideon's grave. Danny sounded like he was freaking out. Harry's nervous."

"Well he is meeting Danny's extended family, and his birth family for the first time, that's to be expected." Connor said, "Remember how nervous I was the first time I met your grandparents?"

"Oh yes, how can I forget the first time you met Grams?" I teased, "You were shaking so bad you looked like you were about to pass out."

He stuck his tongue out at me.

So naturally I lurched forward and captured said tongue with my lips as I started kissing him.

And the kiss was Filthy.

It was also in the driveway where everybody could see it..

"Hey Jude, Moms wanted to know... OH MY GOD!"

I whip around to see Callie standing there, here hand clamped tight over her eyes. She is mock gagging, and all it succeeds in doing is making Connor and I simultaneously roll our eyes.

"Speak, Callie." I deadpanned.

"I may be blind." She croaks dramatically.

"Callie." Connor said, trying not to laugh.

"I may honestly have just had my eyes burned out."

"CALLIE!" I laugh.

"Uhhh... moms wanted to know what campsite you guys are going to." Callie said, her hand still clamped over her eyes, "They want to talk to you before you go, Connor."

Callie made a lightning fast retreat into the house. As soon as the front door closed, the both of us shared a look and chuckled lightly.

"Aaaaaand it's official, we've traumatized my sister. Again." I joke, "What's the count now?"

"I lost track at three hundred seventy two... and that was a year and a half ago." Connor joked back smiling that dopey smile at me, "I'll be right back. Wait here, Juju."

"Why?" I asked him, slightly confused.

"I want to keep it a surprise." Connor said with a huge grin.

It's just the kind of smile that _begs_ to be kissed off.

He leaned in for another kiss, but he stopped just shy of contact, smirking at me evilly.

"Be right back." He said, grinning devilishly, and bolted into the house.

"Dammit Connor!" I shouted after him through my laughter at my boyfriends goofy behavior. I shook my head, and turned to pick up my suitcase and place it in the back of the SUV.

God I love him so much, I really do.

Connor comes running out of the house at full tilt, sliding to a stop behind me, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"You ready to go?" He asked, shaking with gleeful excitement.

"Let's get on the road." I agreed.

"Good, because it's a three hour drive." Connor said quickly, booking around the Suburban to the driver door.

"You say what now?" I say, whipping around to face the direction he'd taken off in, "THREE HOURS?"

Then it clicks in my head.

There is only one camping ground that would take three hours to reach.

It was **the** camping site.

The camping site that, at least for Connor and I, is sacred ground.

"I know where we're going." I tell him, stepping around the SUV and facing him, "We're going back to where this all began. Where we went on our middle school trip."

His smile widens and he steps forward, putting his hands on my waist and leaning his forehead against mine.

"Now you're getting it." He whispers.

"You mean...?"

"Yeah." Connor said, "Same camping ground, same plot. We are gonna be camping in the exact same spot where we had our first kiss, and I made my feelings known for the first time, all those years ago."

I stared adoringly into Connors eyes.

"And you said you were terrible at romance." I joke at him gently, "You're not doing that bad of a job at it."

"Well, what can I say?" He says, staring at me in equal adoration, "I have my moments. Now let's get going."

"You have music?" I ask him.

"Yes I do."

"Then let the show begin."

We both got in the car and I buckled up. I inserted a CD into the radio and pressed play as Connor started the engine and reversed carefully out of the driveway. We both waved goodbye to everybody. The whole family had been stalking us from the front porch. We both shared a look of fond exasperation, and Connor smiled and reached his hand over and threaded his fingers through mine.

The journey there was eventful in itself, or rather the stops along the way were. About an hour into the drive, Connor and I stopped to get something to eat, since we hadn't eaten anything yet. It was a diner. The kind of diner that would give Gordon Ramsay a freaking heart attack. We walked inside and were shown to a table, and the waiter was supremely displeased to be serving a gay couple. He muttered under his breath the enter time. When we finally got our food, it was disgusting. We ended up leaving, not paying a single penny. Connor ended up having to drag me from the restaurant because I wanted to give the waiter a piece of my mind.

We ended up eating at a Burger King in the next town along the way. The food tasted ten times better, which is just sad. We got back in the SUV afterwards, and linked hands, agreeing that the Suburban wouldn't stop until we reached our destination.

True to our decision, three hours later, our hand's still linked, we pulled into the camping ground. I was greeted first by a flurry of déjà vu as Connor drove over to our plot, and parked.

"I'm gonna go check in." He said, getting out of the car. I unbuckled, and opened the door. I got out of the truck and stared around at my surroundings. The place hadn't changed a bit since that day in seventh grade. I walked over to a pair of huge trees that sat on the plot. I stood right in the middle of them.

This was the spot. This is the spot where, in seventh grade, Connor and I shared a tent despite his the oppressive demands of his father, and the spot where we shared our first kiss.

The memory of the night of our first kiss together sprung to my mind. I smiled as I sunk into the memory.

**Flashback:**

It was time for lights out, the final night of the camping trip. The trip had been a blast, with Connor and I just generally enjoying being able to hang out without Adam around to ruin it. But despite his dad's absence, there has been an awkward air between Connor and I. It's driving me crazy, and I can't help but be a little tense and stiff toward him. Just being in the same room with Connor was hard enough at the moment, but the fact that we were sharing a tent together was almost infuriatingly nerve wracking.

I slapped my arm, killing another mosquito.

"Hey, you okay?"

I whip around to see Connor standing there looking at me, a look of slight concern blazing in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say stiffly, "I just... uh, forgot the bug spray at home."

"Oh, it's okay. I got some." He said, holding up his can of spray, "You need some help?"

I wanted to refuse, but the mosquitoes were driving me fricken nuts. I was going to be itching like crazy without it, so I bowed to my sanity's demands and nodded to Connor.

"Yes please." I say.

He motions for me to hold my arms out. I hold my breath and do so, and he shakes the can of bug spray and sprays it on me.

"You've been without bug spray this whole time?" Connor asked me concerned.

I nodded, then shrugged.

"You should have said something earlier." He said to me, "I would have gave you some."

I shrugged again.

"Thanks Connor." I say to him. He smiles at me and nods.

Damn that smile of his.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "You've seemed... off, since we got here."

"I'm fine, Connor." I lied.

I could tell by the look on his face that I had convinced him about as much as I had convinced myself. Not a single bit.

"I'm uh... I'm gonna get into pajamas." He said sadly, and turned and crawled into the tent.

I sighed sadly and waited for him to emerge, and when he did I took my turn getting changed into my pajamas.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting in the tent, cross legged, reading comic books. He was reading a Batman comic, while I was reading an issue of the Walking Dead.

He kept looking at me, trying to make eye contact. After another five minutes, Connor sighed and put his comic down.

"Jude, can we talk about something?"

The tone of his voice struck me, and I finally looked up from my comic and finally made eye contact with him.

He looked... unsure. Worried even. Scared? Yep, definitely scared.

"Sure. What is it?" I asked.

He looked down at his hands, which he was wringing together.

"Do you, uh, remember the night that I, uh... snuck over?" He asks slowly after a moment's hesitation.

I snort.

"Kind of hard to forget." I snarked.

"You remember the game of spin the bottle?" He asked quietly, and cautiously.

'Why was he bringing it up?' I asked myself silently.

"Yes, why?" I ask him confused.

"What was it like for you?" He asked, "Ya know, kissing Maddie and Chelsea?"

As he finished speaking, he peaked up at me, before looking back at his hands. I thought about it for a minute, before shrugging.

"It was... awkward. Borderline unpleasant." I admit, with a laugh, "Maddie's breath stank, and Chelsea had some weird tasting lip gloss on."

Connor's lip quirked into a half smile, but not a full one. It was gone as soon as it had appeared, and he started rolling his jaw. It's something he only did when he was in emotional distress.

"Something's bothering you, isn't it?" I ask him, and I crawl over to sit next to him.

"A little." Connor said uncomfortably.

"What is it?" I ask him.

He looked at me, unsure.

"You can tell me anything." I pushed gently.

"I was... thinking about how I spun it and it landed on you." He confessed.

Okay, now it makes sense. Almost having to kiss your boy best friend who your dad thinks is gay and has banned you from seeing and then sharing a tent with him. All kinds of awkward. I couldn't help the pang of sadness that I felt at Connor being uncomfortable being around me.

"And now you feel awkward." I finish for him, "I understand. I can go sleep with Lena if you want..."

"No." He whispered brokenly.

I turned to look at him, confusion setting in.

"It's not that." He said quietly.

"Then what is it?" I ask him, confused.

He froze, and after a second he raised his gaze to meet mine, and it was at this point that I noticed his eyes were slightly red.

"If uh... if Callie hadn't walked in, would you really have kissed me?"

I stare at him puzzled, because that was the last thing I expected him to say.

"Uh. Yeah. I guess so. It was part of the game. Why?" I asked confused.

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Never mind."

"Connor." I say to him, "You know you can tell me if something is bothering you."

He nodded, but didn't speak. His silence lasted for a whole minute.

"What do you think it would've felt like?" He whispered.

Okaaay, I take it back. THAT is the last thing I expected.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

He looked at me.

"Do you think it would've been bad? Kissing me?" Connor asked nervously.

"Um, I don't know. Why? Want to find out?" I joke to him with a nudge of the elbow and a nervous laugh.

He turns his head to look me in the eyes...

...And he leaned in.

My eyes widened as our lips connected.

Holy. Shit. Was this really happening right now?

Connor was kissing me.

CONNOR was kissing ME!

I shook myself mentally from my shock before kissing back.

Now this was a kiss. This was a proper kiss. This is how a kiss should feel. It was like the world had melted away, and it was just the two of us. His lips were soft against mine, with no stupid lip gloss to make it unpleasant. His breath smelled like the s'mores we had eaten earlier. I fell onto my back, pulling him down with me.

We kissed for what felt like forever, but was really only about ten minutes. We separated with a gasp, and Connor fell back onto his back. As we both sat up, we looked at each other, and I looked from his swollen lips into Connor's eyes.

In those eyes, I saw realization and confusion at the same time. I saw exhilaration and fear.

"That was..." I started to say, but I couldn't form the words.

"Yeah." He said to me. He stared at me. A single tear fell from his eye, "I've wanted to do that for a while."

I crawled over to him, as his tears fell harder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He says, even though he clearly isn't, "My dad can't find out about this. You have to keep this a secret, please?"

I looked into his pleading eyes, and nodded. He pulled me into a one armed hug, before moving to get into his sleeping bag.

"G'night Jude."

"G'night Connor."

As I lay awake in that tent, listening to Connor cry himself to sleep. I knew that things would never be the same again.

**End Flashback.**

I'm shaken from my memories when I feel the familiar pleasant sensation of Connor wrapping his arms around me from behind, and rest his chin on my shoulder. I leaned my head against his and smiled.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking about the first time we were here."

Connor laughed, placing a noisy kiss to my cheek.

"Yeah. Me too."

I turned my head to look at him and kissed him back.

"SO," I say, pulling away from him, "What are we gonna do after we get the tent up?"

"THAT, my dear, is a surprise." He said with a wink. I scowled playfully at him.

"I bet I could weasel it out of you." I joke slyly, pulling him into another kiss, this one of the more pleasantly raunchy variety. When we separated, Connor was turning the most delicious shade of red.

"Fine. You win." He stammered, trying to collect himself, "Today, we are gonna get this tent up, then we are gonna go for a swim, have a picnic by the water. Then we are gonna kiss some more. Then we are gonna come back here and get the fire started, and then when it starts to get dark we are gonna go back to the lake, and watch the sunset."

It didn't take long for Connor to put the tent up. It only took him about ten minutes, in which I sat against the tree watching. I would have tried to help, but I wisely decided not to. If I had tried to help, I would have ended up destroying it in a fit of impatient rage. When he was finished, he went to the car and pulled out a cooler. He walked over to me and I stood up and wrapped my arm around him.

"Let's go." He said, and we walked down to the small pier. Once we reached it, he sat the cooler down and removed his shirt. He cannonball into the lake with a loud whoop. Seconds later he surfaced, shaking his head like a wet dog, a wide grin set on his face.

"Come on in, Juju!" He hollered, "The water's fine!"

I smiled at him and slowly unbuttoned my shirt. As soon as I had it fully unbuttoned, Connor smirked and let out a shrill wolf whistle.

"Swim and a strip tease!" Connor leered jokingly, "Could today get any better?"

Now, I couldn't let that go unpunished, could I?

So I dove in after him. We tackled each other into the water, laughing the whole time.

As we swam after each other, he stopped and turned and I saw into him. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too."

I could safely say that it was the most perfect day I had ever had.

Ten minutes later, we sat on the pier with our legs dangling over the side. As we dripped dry, we both stared at the setting sun. Twilight was approaching and the sky was a rich shade of pink and orange. I exhaled.

"This is perfect."

Connor leaned his head on my shoulder, his wet hair tickling my neck slightly.

"Yeah. It really is." Connor said with a sigh, "And to think, we almost didn't make it this far."

"Yeah, no kidding." I agreed, "I'm glad we worked things out though. I would have been miserable if we never got back together."

"It would have killed me." Connor said, "Not being able to hug you. Or cuddle you, or kiss you. We were only broken up for a month and a half and it still almost drove me insane."

"Well, we're here now." I said softly, "And I promise, I'm never letting you go again."

We sat there for another twenty minutes before we headed back to the tent to inflate the air mattress that moms insisted we bring. I was thankful that Adam had suggested bringing a battery powered air pump to blow it up with, because one of the hand pumps would have taken hours. When we finished, we went to the back of the Suburban to get our nightclothes.

We opened the bag and stared into it.

Simultaneously we both flushed as we gazed at the smaller box that had been stuffed in with it.

We looked at each other and I could feel my cheeks turning a deeper red.

"Um, how much you wanna bet it was Danny and Harry?" Connor asked me, equally red.

"I'm going to fucking kill them." I muttered exasperatedly.

The small box in question was a box of condoms, with a note attached.

My eye twitched in irritation as I picked up the note.

"Well, what does it say?" Connor asked, his blush fading.

"It says: Enjoy mates, don't do anything we wouldn't do. Love Danny and Harry." I read.

We both stare at the box for a minute. Then back at each other. Then back at the box.

"I know we've fooled around and stuff a lot before," Connor said cautiously, "But have you ever actually thought about it before? Actually doing it like... going all the way?"

"Well, yeah. Of course. I'm a seventeen year old boy." I say to him.

I wasn't lying either. To be honest, I have thought about it before on many occasions. I've had dreams about it before, and I know Connor has to. We've both fooled around before, many times. He's always went at my pace, which I'm thankful for. It wasn't until after we both turned sixteen that we actually started doing stuff, and at the time it was just groping. Eventually though, it advanced to more serious things, and every time is more amazing than the proceeding one. It's intoxicating, to be that close to somebody, to share something so special with the person you love.

We looked at each other. Then back at the box. Then back at each other. He looked at me with a smirk and raised his eyebrows a couple of times suggestively. I grinned at him and grab the box.

"Do you want to?" I asked seriously.

"If you want to." Connor said softly, "If you're ready, then yeah. I do."

"I do." I assured him, reaching out a hand to him.

He took my hand, and I led him into the tent. We undressed slowly, nervously. The nervousness didn't last long, however.

It lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. Being that close to Connor? It was the best feeling I'd ever had. As we lay together in a comfortable, happy stupor, I curled up into Connor's side, and rested my head on his chest.

"That was amazing." I breathed.

"Yeah. It was." Connor responded softly, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

It wasn't long before the both of us fell asleep.

**Connor's POV:**

We woke up at a little after noon, and I lay peacefully on the mattress, my arms wrapped around Jude's sleeping form, staring down at him. His face, so peacefully deep in slumber, was angelic. I give him a gentle squeeze and leaned down to kiss him on the top of his head. I remembered the dream I had after we finally went to sleep. I smiled at him.

Today was a day the two of us would never forget.

I knew he was suspicious about the surprise I had planned for him, and soon he was going to find out why.

I kissed his forehead, and it caused him to wake up. His eyes slowly blinked open. He looked at me for a moment, before a bright, sleepy smile overtook his face, his chocolate eyes sparkling. He breathed deeply and stretched, groaning as his muscles ached pleasantly before exhaling a soft laugh.

"That was some night, huh?"

I grin giddily, giving him a good squeeze.

"Yeah. Some night."

"We should have done that a long time ago." He said sleepily, "It was amazing."

"I don't know, I think this was the perfect time." I tell him, "We both knew we were ready. No regrets. No fears. After we got back together, I always said I would wait, as long as you were my first, and I was yours."

"Yeah." He said. I lean down and give him a kiss, "No regrets. Never a regret when it's you."

"Are you still gonna kill Harry and Danny?" I ask him jokingly.

"Nah." Jude said, "But I might kick Danny in the shin."

I laugh. Jude had a cute little smirk on his face that he only got when he planned revenge. It's a smirk that just begs to be kissed off.

"You're hot when you plan revenge." I tell him, kissing him, "Plus, you know they're both probably doing the same thing, so we can use that, and tease them mercilessly."

"Sounds like a plan." He said, looking up at me. "Should we just lay in bed all day? Or do you wanna get up and do something?"

"I wish we could just lay here, because I have a feeling we're both gonna have trouble walking for the first twenty minutes." I tease him.

He laughs and slaps my chest playfully, before nodding.

"Yeah, we did go a bit nuts last night." He admitted.

"Literally." I said without thinking.

Jude snorts and rolls his eyes in exasperation.

"You are terrible." He says as he laughs.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." I say to him.

"Of course I do." He says with a smile, "Now come on. Let's get up."

We threw the covers off of us and slowly stood, and immediately I noticed the dull ache, and I could tell Jude could feel it too. We got dressed, and left the tent, and we both had trouble walking without waddling around.

"We look like penguins, the way we're walking." Jude said jokingly as he attempted to light the campfire.

"It'll get better in a couple minutes." I tell him, "Unless we pulled something."

"Oh god I hope not." He said, his face paling, "I just hope we can walk properly by the time we go home. I don't want to have to hear it from moms or my siblings. I can hear it now; 'Did you use protection, Jude?' or 'You sure it was the right time, Jude?' or 'Why are you walking funny Jude?'. I swear if they ask me anything about it, I will scream."

"You never know, we still have two days left, and four condoms." I joke at him, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively, trying desperately not to laugh.

He glared playfully at me, before shrugging with a laugh.

"Maybe." He said.

I smirk at him, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Well, it did feel Reeaaally good." He admitted.

"You can say that again... even if it did hurt at first." I agree.

"I haven't heard you scream that loud since you got shot in middle school." He teased me.

I winced at the mention of the shooting incident, but covered up by grabbing my heart and gasping dramatically.

"Such words! They wound me. Be damned you're sharp words. How will I ever recover from the brutal sting of your verbal poison?" I rattle of dramatically.

Jude started guffawing so hard he clutched his side. It took him five whole minutes to regain his composure.

"Now who is reading too much Shakespeare?" Jude asked, "I may quote it sometimes, but I've never tried to sound like that!"

"Hey, as long as I'm not being forced to read it for a class, Shakespeare isn't that bad of a read." I argue.

"That, we can agree on." He said, as he finally managed to light the fire. "It's supposed stop hurting after the first few times."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, before I broke the silence.

"Hey Juju?"

"Yeah?"

"It WAS good for you, right?" I ask him, my insecurity getting the better of me, "I didn't hurt you or anything? Didn't do anything wrong?"

I take a drink from a can of Coca Cola.

"Yeah, it was good." He interrupts me, "You were fine. You took great care of me. You were extremely gentle with me. Don't worry. Besides, I should be the one asking you these things. I was the one who went a bit psycho. I'm honestly surprised I didn't bust the mattress."

I snorted through my drink, cringing as it went up my nose, sending me into a coughing fit.

"Glad you brought it up instead of me." I say as I finish coughing, "Even with all the stuff we'd done before, I never expected you to be the crazy one in bed."

I reached over and pulled him close, ignoring the snort he released.

"It's good to know, that even after all the years we've been dating, you can still surprise me."

He smiled and leaned in for another kiss, which I was only too happy to give. I looked deep into his eyes. I could get lost in his eyes. Such a deep, chocolate brown, so full of life and warmth, radiating love and affection. It never fails to take my breath away.

"I still find it hard to believe sometimes, that I was so lucky." I respond, "At only thirteen years old, I found the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I found my soul mate."

I hug him tightly, just to hold him in my arms. I kissed the top of his head.

"I love you so much, Juju." I whisper to him softly, "More than anything else on this planet."

"I know. I love you too." He said.

"I know I say it all the time," I say to him, staring deep into his eyes, "But I really do. You're my soul mate, Juju. You're my everything. And I'll always be there. I'll never leave."

He looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, just.... I know you already know that there is a reason why I brought you out here," I said, finally getting to the point, "I've had second thoughts about what I'm about to do... But I had a dream last night, when we were both done and sleeping. That dream... I've been having it for years. Last night, it just sealed it for me."

"Connor?"

I shake my head and wave my hand, nonverbally asking for no interruptions.

"It was summer, and it was warm and sunny. There were no clouds in the sky and the birds were singing." I continued, "You, me, Danny and Harry. All together. We were standing on the beach, dressed in suit's, hand in hand. All of our family was there. My dad, your moms, your siblings. Everybody was crying, but it was happy crying, and they were smiling."

He looked at me confused.

"I don't understand..."

"I saw our wedding, Juju." I said.

His eyes widened.

"And the dream, I realized... how much I actually wanted that." I said softly.

"Connor?" He asks, his eyes wide and sounding breathless, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Well, what do you think I'm saying?" I asked.

"Are you... are you proposing to me?"

I look directly at him. I exhale a shaky breath, and nod slowly.

"Yes. I am." I said softly.

His eyes widened, if possible, even further, and his breath caught in his throat.

"One day, in the future, when we're both ready, I want to." I said, staring into his eyes lovingly, "I wanna marry you."

His mouth dropped open.

"And I know we're both young," I start to say, "We're both insanely young, stupidly young... But will you marry me, Jude?"

He stared at me. His eyes were wide, and his mouth agate.

"When?" He managed to say.

"Whenever you like." I answered.

He was completely speechless, as I pulled a small box out of my pocket. He gasped.

"This was the whole reason I brought you here." I said, opening the box to display the ring within, "This ring was my grandmother's. Dad gave it to me when I told him what I was planning."

"Adam knows?" Jude asked surprised.

"Yeah, and we have his blessing." I continued, "Your moms know, your siblings know, and they all gave me their blessings too. Danny and Harry both know. I wanted this to be special, and I wanted to do this in the same place where I made my feelings for you known, the same place where I first realized that I was falling so hopelessly in love with you."

I reached and grabbed his hands and held them in mine, maintaining eye contact.

"I know I'm rambling, I know I sound insane. I know I'm babbling like an idiot." I said shakily, "But I know what I want. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. All you need to do... is give me an answer."

I opened the box and pulled the ring from its cushion and held it out to him. He stared at it, then made eye contact. He reached out and took it from me, holding it as if it were a priceless treasure.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked shakily.

"More than anything. But it's up to you. Everything is, even the date." I tell him, "But I need your answer, Juju."

"We're seventeen years old." He said, "What if later on you start to think this is a mistake? What if you meet somebody better?"

"In the course of our relationship, I have never regretted anything that you and I have done." I said, "And there is nobody on this Earth that I could love more than you. I won't regret this, and neither will you, I promise."

He stared at the ring in his hand.

"Moms would want us to graduate first." Jude said, "Get jobs first, and start college. If I say yes, then it'll probably have to be a long engagement. At least until my twentieth birthday. If I say yes, that'll probably be the earliest we do this unless something changes. Can you wait two and a half years?"

"I would wait until the end of the world, if it meant me marrying you, Jude."

He looked me in the eyes, then back at the ring. He reached out and took it from me, looking at it closely as I awaited his answer with baited breath. I watched, and my eyes widened as he slid the ring onto his finger. I made a small whimpering noise as he took my hand into his and smiled.

"Then yes." He said

"Yes?" I croaked, barely able to believe it.

"Yes. Connor Stevens... I will marry you."

I grab him in a fierce embrace, lifting him off of his feet and spinning him around on the spot. I was so happy, that I couldn't stop the tears and the raucous laughter that came. I put him back on his feet, and kissed him like it was my last chance to do so.

Every happy emotion I was feeling was forced into that kiss.

I had my soul mate, and he had agreed to marry me...

...Two and a half years was a small price, that I was more than willing to pay


	14. Revealing the Engagement

Connor's POV:

The final days of the trip passed in a flurry of swimming, hiking, and yes... we did have sex again. More than once. In fact we'll probably have to thank Danny and Harry for gifting us those condoms, since we ended up using all of them. I can honestly say that I have never felt more in love with Jude than I have now. To be as close to him as that brings me, is intoxicating. So intoxicating that we uh... might have used them all.

The final night of the trip, Jude and I sat on a log on the beach. Our hands were linked, and Jude's head rested on mine, which rested on his shoulder. He both looked up to the sky, and the stars present there.

"It's so peaceful out here." Jude said softly.

I made a noise of agreement.

"The last few days have been perfect." I said, "Alone with you like this. My fiancé."

He giggled at the word.

"Fiancé." He whispered.

We kissed, losing ourselves in each other as we always did.

All too soon, we pulled back into the driveway of the Adams Fosters house and stared up at it, content smiles on our faces. The rest of the camping trip had went off without a hitch, and while we wished we could have stayed longer, we were both glad to be home. I looked at Jude, who was blinking sleep out of his eyes, and gave him a soft smile which he returned. He reached out and threaded his fingers into mine, the ring on his finger glinting in the sunlight.

I can't believe he said yes.

He actually FUCKING SAID YES.

My boyfriend of four years was officially my fiancé.

I stared into his eyes, and got lost in them as he did the same. We were so lost in each other that I didn't notice the stealthy approach made by a certain Scotsman to the door of my Suburban. He knocked on the window, causing me to jump in fright, sending my head crashing into the ceiling.

"GAH! Motherfucker!" I swore and turned to glare at the person responsible for my suffering.

I have never wanted anything more, than I wanted to wipe the smirk off of Danny's face at that moment with a well placed punch. The glare that Danny was receiving from Jude would have made men of weaker dispositions cower in fear and beg for mercy.

Unfortunately, all it did on Danny was make him laugh.

"OI! LOVEBIRDS!" He cackled as I rubbed my aching head.

I decided, just this once, to succumb to the intense desire to cause him injury, so I rolled the window down, and my fist flew out without warning to catch Danny in the side of the face. The impact caused him to lurch backwards and he immediately started rubbing the spot my fist had landed.

"Okay, I deserved that." Danny conceded.

"You're lucky I haven't hit you yet like I was planning to." Jude said crossly.

"I was just coming to tell you two to get a move on! Stef and Lena are setting down dinner as we speak." Danny said, still rubbing his jaw, "You know how they get when somebody is late."

My glare disappeared at the mention of food, which Jude and I sped into the house to consume as much of as humanly possible. Both of us were hungry for something that wasn't cooked over a campfire.

"Okay, since this is about food, you're forgiven." Jude said, his tone flipping on the dime as we exited the Suburban and followed Danny back into the house.

Lena, Stef, Callie, Brandon, Mariana and Harry looked up from the lasagna that they were tucking into when we thundered into the room. Danny thundered passed us to claim the seat next to Harry, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he sat down. It never failed to make me smile that Danny and Harry had pretty much became a part of the family. Brandon, Callie, and Mariana all thought of Danny and Harry as their brothers, and the feeling was mutual. Although the argument could be made that Danny was closer to Brandon than the others because of their mutual love of writing music, while Harry was closer to Mariana because they were both crazy good with computers.

They all shot us amused looks as we moved further into the kitchen and grabbed plates from the cupboard.

"Finally decided to come inside, huh?" Brandon asked teasingly.

"We heard there was food involved." I said simply as Jude and I sat down next each other in our normal spots.

"One thing that has never changed with you, even after all these years. Still thinking with your stomach." Jude teased with a grin.

"Hey, you ran in here as fast as I did." I said, helping myself to a large portion of the lasagna, before grabbing a piece of garlic bread. I offered him a piece.

"Want some?" I teased.

His nose crinkled in disgust.

"You know I hate garlic bread." He said.

He's right. I did know this, but I always did it anyway. Just because I thought the little crinkling of his nose when he makes his disgusted face was freaking adorable.

"You don't know what you're missing." I said as I devoured the bread.

"Happy to eat something that isn't cooked over a campfire, are we?" Harry joked, while simultaneously being dead serious.

"YES." Jude and I said synchronously.

"I know what you mean." Callie agreed, "I mean, I have absolutely nothing against camping food, but having it for three days in a row can drive somebody crazy."

"Yeah, no kidding." Brandon interjected, "When we all went camping as a family for the first time, the first thing Jude, Jesus and I did when we got home was pig out on snacks. Which is saying something in itself, given Jude's infamous dislike of snacking between meals."

Jude gave a small laugh and smiled at the memory. I remember him telling me about making s'mores around the fire with the rest of his family on that trip.

" _Come to think of it, s'mores sounds good right now._ " I thought to myself.

"I wouldn't mind some s'mores though." Mariana quipped as I took a drink.

I snorted at the coincidence, and instantly regretted it as my drink came out my nose and I started coughing. Jude smacked me on the back, and handed me a napkin to wipe my nose.

His ring glinted on his finger.

Before I could take the napkin, ever the eagle eye, across the table I saw Danny glance at Jude's hand. His eyes widened, and a smirk grew to split across his face. He nudged Harry, whose eyes focused on the ring and his expression soon mirrored Danny's. I shook my head at them, nonverbally asking for discretion, before I took the napkin.

It was at this time that I remembered the condoms and decided to mess with them a bit.

"Soooo. Danny, Harry, how was Scotland? What'd you guys do?" I asked.

"Hasn't changed much. I gave him the tour of Edinburgh. Took him to, uh... took him with me to visit Gideon's grave for the first time. But I already told you that on the phone." Danny said,

"How d'you like meeting your real parents in person for the first time, Harry?" Jude asked him.

Harry smiled.

"They were even nicer in person. First thing they did was hug me. I have never cried so hard in my entire life." He said, "We talked a lot. They asked me for more details on what my life had been like. I told them about how my step parents are, and they said they were sorry for giving me up. I really liked spending time with them. It felt... right. Normal."

"I'm glad." I said.

It was at this point that Jude and I both turned our gazes back on Danny and our expressions switched from happy to menacing.

"By the way, we got your guy's little... gift in our bag." Jude purred dangerously.

I look of absolute dread took residence on Danny and Harry's faces. They knew exactly what Jude was referring to. They didn't need to know that neither of us were really mad about it anymore. In fact, we were actually kind of grateful, since we did end up using them all.

"Should we run?" Harry asked Danny.

"Nope. They'll just chase after us." Danny answered, before taking a bracing breath, "Okay, give us your worst."

Jude and I glared at them for a minute, before relenting.

"Thank you, they came in handy." Jude started evilly.

"All eight of them." I finished, just as evilly.

"Care to let us in on the joke?" Lena asked curiously.

Shit. Forgot about Stef and Lena. They're sure to ask questions.

"NO!" Jude and I screeched at the same time.

Now it was Danny's turn to smirk evilly, and I cursed at ourselves for making such a grave miscalculation by having this exchange in front of our family.

"All eight huh?" He leered mischievously, "Oooooooh, you two got BUSY huh?"

At the same time, Stef, Lena, and all the siblings turned to look at us, eyes wide and mouths agate.

"Danny, you will die a slow, excruciating death." I growled, "I swear to god."

"Excruciating? Thas' a big word for you. Tell me; how did it feel?" He teased.

My eye twitched as I glared at him, imagining myself removing his left eyeball with a table spoon for his insinuation that I have low intelligence.

"I have a 4.0 grade point average, you troglodyte." I shot back at him, "I know plenty of big words."

"Really? Name another." Danny challenged.

"Disembowelment." I growled, "Dismemberment."

"Boys?"

Jude and I turned to Lena and Stef, who stared at us with raised eyebrows. I peaked at everybody else in the room to see that they were also staring at us with the same expression.

"Explain. Now, please." Stef said in her police office voice.

Jude and I looked at each other. We sighed in unison, realizing that there was no way out of it.

"At the end of the first night, we found a small gift from those two in my clothes bag." I said reluctantly, flashing a malevolent glare at my grinning best friends.

"What was it?" Brandon asked.

Jude mumbled something quietly.

"Sorry, didn't catch that?" Callie asked.

"It was a box of condoms." Jude mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.

The whole table started roaring with laughter. Brandon was laughing so hard it looked like he was gonna fall out of his chair, and Danny and Harry looked no better. Stef and Lena were the first to stop laughing, because they suddenly remembered us saying that we used them all.

"You said that you used them all." Stef said aloud.

That shut everybody else up.

"Um. Yeah, we did." Jude said, sitting up straighter in his seat and staring her down, "Is that a problem."

"As long as you two are safe, we don't care if you're active." Stef said bluntly, "Jude, you're seventeen. Connor you're eighteen. You're both old enough to make that choice for yourself."

"Good, because we were expecting a lecture." I said.

Jude raised his left hand and rubbed his forehead in embarrassment.

The entire table went silent again. Everybody's eyes were locked on the ring.

Brandon looked like he'd just been hit over the head with a frying pan.

Mariana looks like she's about to burst into simultaneous sobs and giggles.

Callie has her hand covering her mouth.

Stef and Lena are a little wide eyed, but are managing to control themselves.

Danny and Harry were grinning at us, and it looked as though Danny's eyes might have a slight red tint to them, indicating that he was fighting off tears. If I asked him later, he probably wouldn't even deny it.

I nudged Jude, who looked at me. I motioned to his hand. His eyes widened.

"Holy Shit." Brandon whispered.

I couldn't hold back my beaming smile as I nodded.

"Yeah. He said yes, guys." I said, turning to gaze upon Jude's blushing face with a giddy grin.

"I can't believe you actually went through with it, Connor." Brandon said, "I thought you'd change your mind."

"I thought a lot about it. After the first night out in the woods, my mind was made up. I couldn't not do it, you know?" I said, still smiling.

"Are you two absolutely sure?" Lena asked, "I'm happy for you both, but I have to ask."

Jude and I shared a look, and I felt his hand intertwine with mine.

"Yeah, we're sure." Jude answered, "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have said yes. I love Connor, and I always knew that someday I was gonna marry him. This just made it official."

Stef and Lena rose from their seats and marched over to us, wrapping us in a group hug.

"Our babies." Lena croaked, her emotions finally showing, "You grow up so fast."

"It seems like only yesterday that you were asking if your 'friend' Connor could come over to work on a project together." Stef said, her eyes now wet as well as she addressed Jude, "And now you're marrying him. Where have the years gone?"

"It's so surreal." Brandon said.

"Yeah, but we always knew it would end up here." Mariana interjected, "We always knew that these two would end up married. Even when they broke up that one time, we all knew it wouldn't last long."

"It's also kind of infuriating though." Callie said jokingly, "That the youngest of the siblings is gonna be the first to get married."

"And that their relationship has lasted at least three times longer than all of our relationships combined." Brandon quipped, joining in on the teasing

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voices?" Jude asked teasingly.

They didn't even bother denying it.

"Yes, it is." The siblings chorused in response, deadpanned expressions on their faces.

"We're not even joking." Mariana said, dead serious, " In this family, it's nothing short of a miracle."

"It is not." Jude tried to insist, but was cut off by Brandon.

"The short breakup when you were in sophomore year notwithstanding," Brandon said, "You two are the only relationship among us that has lasted almost since it started. Except for Moms."

"And we've all had a litany of relationships since then." Callie said, "You two are still together."

"We've all been tempted, more than once to come to you for advice." Mariana said, "In WHAT sane world do the older siblings ask their youngest brother for relationship advice?"

Jude started laughing.

I was sitting there, feeling kind of stunned. I had no idea that they held our relationship in such high esteem.

"When are you guy's gonna have the wedding?" Stef asked, "How long do we have to prepare for it?"

"About three years." Jude answered.

Everybody looked shocked.

"That was his condition for saying yes. A long engagement." I explained.

"Why such a long time?" Lena and Stef asked at the same time.

Jude looked at them confused.

"Well, we're still in High School." He said, "We don't graduate for another year and a half."

"Yeah, so?" Brandon asked, still kind of confused, "I would do it anyway."

"Well, I figured that Moms would want us to wait until we're out of high school at least." Jude answered, "And I'm not even eighteen yet. I figured you guys would all say we were two young."

"Well, yeah." Stef agreed, "It would be better to wait until after high school."

"But is that what you two actually want?" Lena asked.

"It doesn't matter what we want, Jude." Mariana interjected, "It's what you want that matters."

"I will admit, that it would make me happy not to wait three years." I admit, "Hell, I'd do it right now if it was possible."

Jude looked at me, his eyes sparkling.

"You're that eager to marry me?" He asked, his voice only cracking once.

"Of course I am, Juju." I said softly.

He looked at his moms, then to his siblings, then Danny and Harry.

I picked up my glass of Coke, and started to take a drink.

"If it's entirely up to me, then... I wanna do it as soon as legally possible." He said with conviction.

I gasp, accidentally inhaling a large gulp of pop, necessitating more thumps on the back from Jude as I fought to clear my air passages.

Afterwards I looked at him in shock. I had looked up the law on marriage in California. I knew how soon that would mean.

"How soon is that?" Brandon asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Stef beat me to it.

"By California state law," Stef answered, "Two parties can marry without parental consent upon reaching the age of eighteen."

I continued to look at Jude in shock.

"So if that's what you want, Jude, you'll still have to wait until November." Lena finished for Stef.

"What d'you think?" He asked me, turning in his chair to stare at me.

I stare at him, my eyes wide and my breathing erratic. I reach out and take his other hand into my free hand and squeeze.

"Is this what you want?" I ask him, "Because if it is, that's what we'll do."

He looks me in the eyes and nods.

"Yeah. It is. I wanna be with you forever, and I wanna make it official." He said, "The only reasons I said we should wait until we were twenty aren't a problem anymore, so why wait?"

I can't stop a few tears from escaping as I lunge and wrap my arms around him. He laughs and tucks his face into the crook of my neck. He pulls out of the hug, and he smiles. I lean in for a kiss, not caring in the slightest that the entire family is watching. After he broke the kiss, he leaned back and smiled at me. I smiled back.

"You two, I swear. You look like the human form of the emoji with heart eyes." Harry teased.

"I would say welcome to the family, Connor," Brandon said, "But you already are part of the family, little bro."

Brandon called me little bro.

How am I supposed to not cry at that?

I get up and I walk over and I give Brandon a hug. Mariana and Callie soon join in.

"How's your dad gonna react to the change of plans?" Jude asked me as I was released from the group embrace.

Everybody looked at him questioningly/

"We already told him over the phone." I explained, "He called us the day after and asked if I'd done it yet. So, we told him. And He'll be fine. He likes you now. He trusts us. I'll call him and tell him after dinner."

"What kind of wedding do you two want?" Callie asked.

"Well, we wanted to have it on the beach, but given that it'll be November, I don't know it that'll be a good idea." I answered.

"Well, it's California during a draught, Connor." Harry interjected, "I doubt that'll be a problem. Although, you two will have to start planning immediately."

"Why?" Jude asked.

"Takes a long bloody time to plan a wedding, Judicorn." Danny said, earning him a glare for uttering the nickname.

"Only Mariana and Connor can call me that." He says as he glared. Danny puts his hands up in joking surrender.

"Anyway, we don't want anything too expensive either." I continue, "We want something simple and private. Just the family and friends. The most expensive thing will probably be the wedding rings."

With that, talk of the wedding continued, with Mariana and Callie periodically busting into giggling fits at the prospect of planning their baby brother's wedding. When my dinner was finished, I rose from the table and pulled out my phone.

"Be right back." I said, dialing my dad's number as I rose.

He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" He asked drowsily.

"Takin' a nap I'm guessing?" I ask.

"Yeah. Whaddya need, son?"

"I was just calling to tell you that Jude changed his mind on the wedding date." I said.

"What? He push it back further?" He asked confused.

"No. He moved it up. Quite a bit." I answered.

"When does he want to do it?" He asked.

"He wants to get married as soon as the law will allow." I said.

"So November then?" He asked. "You alright with doing it that soon?"

"Yeah. I'd do it tomorrow it they'd let us." I said with a happy chuckle.

"Tell Stef and Lena to give me a call if they need help planning. When you coming home?" He asks.

"I'm staying here tonight. Danny and Harry are too. I'll be home tomorrow in time for lunch."

"Okay, see you then. And son..." He said, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks dad." I said, smiling widely, "Bye."

He hung up, and I returned to sit back down at Jude's side.

"He's fine with it." I answer the unasked question.

I stared at Jude, initiating my favorite activity of getting lost in his eyes. In seven months, I was going to marry him. In seven months, he would become my husband. I get a thrilling shiver of pleasure when I think that word. Husband. _Husband!_ I should be feeling nervous, scared, terrified even...

But at the moment, all I could feel was _right_.

Seven months, was all I had to wait.

Seven months that couldn't fly past quickly enough.

I had no idea that a certain thorn in my side would return to wreak havoc.

I should have known, the last time I had seen her, that my mother would cause trouble upon hearing about my plans to marry Jude.


	15. Bisexuality, The Witch, and Harry's Past

Connor's POV:

I really, REALLY hate Mondays. No, really. I truly do. Anybody who enjoys Mondays should check into a freaking mental institution for immediate psychological evaluation, be declared insane and locked away for the rest of their natural lives.

Mondays should be illegal. Like, extremely illegal. If I ever get into a position where I make the laws, I will make Mondays illegal. I don't even care that I'm being ridiculous.

Today, however... today just fricken sucks total ass, for one specific reason.

It's been two weeks since the best spring break of my life ended and school started back, and Jude is avoiding me.

My fiancé (insert minor mental freak-out about the fact that he is now my fiancé) is avoiding me, and it's driving me mad. Every time I've tried to talk to him today, he's walked off in the other direction. I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm starting to get worried.

"Hey, Connor!"

I turn around to see Danny and Harry walking towards me. They were, as usual, hand in hand, and both had worried expressions on their faces.

"Sup, Danny. Harry." I said back, "You guys seen Jude?"

"Yeah, we just saw him a minute ago." Danny said.

"Jude wants you to meet him at your bench after school. Says he needs to talk to you about something important." Harry said.

"Did he say why?" I ask, "Because I have no idea."

Danny shook his head. My mind jumped to the worst, but Danny continued.

"No, he didn't say why." Danny said, "He only said to tell you he's not breaking up with you, and not to worry like we all know you are right now."

I blushed, but nod. I was relieved. I wasn't afraid to acknowledge the fact that ever since Jude and I's temporary breakup in Sophomore Year, sometimes I got worried about it happening again if it felt like something was wrong. Jude tries to reassure me, and deep down I know he's right, but I can't help it sometimes.

"Okay, thanks." I said, and without another word I proceeded to my next class, the only class I didn't have with the others.

I sat through the class, not really paying attention, worried to death about what Jude wanted to tell me. When the bell rang to signal the end of the day I couldn't escape the confines of the classroom fast enough. I walked outside to mine and Jude's spot. Jude was already there, sitting on the bench with his legs folded underneath him and his head in his hands. I approached and sat down.

Neither of us spoke for almost five full minutes before I broke the silence.

"You had me worried again." I said softly, "You avoided my all of Sunday and today."

"I'm sorry." Jude said quietly.

"I know, it's just... that's what happened when we broke up." I continued, "You avoided me for two days and then we had a shouting match."

"I know. I didn't mean to, I just... I have a lot on my mind right now." He confessed with a sigh.

"What's wrong, Juju?" I asked gently, "The last time you seemed this upset, besides the breakup, was because of... because of Callie and Brandon."

Jude flinched, and his brow furrowed at the mention of what was probably the most forbidden subject of conversation around him, but it was true.

Years ago, Jude had found Callie's diary, and being the typical little brother, he had to read it. Upon reading it, he discovered that Callie and Brandon had sex before Callie got adopted. Jude and I were supposed to go on a date that night, and I had arrived at the house to pick him up just in time to witness the end of Jude's shouting match with Brandon, and just in time to see Jude throw the first punch.

Brandon was so shocked at being punched that he didn't defend himself when Jude leapt on him and kept punching. Jude only got two hits in before I intervened and pulled Jude off of Brandon, shoving Jude out the front door. Jude tried to lunge for him again, but I caught him around the torso and demanded to know what was going on. He stomped out of the house, and got in the car for the ride to the movies. About ten minutes into the ride, he finally broke his silence and told me what had happened. I was almost as mad as he was. I couldn't look at either Callie or Brandon for the longest time because of it. Eventually, Jude forgave them, and so did I.

"It's not them. I'm just... confused." He said, a very small not of irritation in his voice.

I frowned.

"Why?"

"... It's nothing." He said, "I don't even know why I'm making such a big deal out of it."

"Hey," I said, pulling him into a side hug, "If it's making you this upset it's obviously not nothing. You know you can tell me anything."

He sighed, and looked up at me. He sighed again.

"Okay... I'll tell you." He said, "But promise you won't laugh at me?"

"Of course I won't." I said gently.

"Okay." He said, taking a deep breath, "Since you came out back in seventh grade, have you ever..."

"Have I what?" I asked gently.

"Have you ever doubted that you were gay?"Jude finally asked softly.

My jaw drops slightly at that question. That was definitely the last thing I expected to hear coming out of Jude's mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Just answer the question. Please?" He said.

I thought about it for a second. In all honesty, the only time I ever doubted my sexuality was at the very beginning. I had doubted my sexuality for almost a year before I met Jude. When I met Jude, the confusion grew and culminated with the kiss in the tent. From then on, despite trying to hide it, I never had another question or shadow of a doubt.

"Uhhh. No. Not since I realized I liked you and kissed you in the tent." I answered truthfully, "You know that because of my dad, I tried to like girls. I tried to force myself to be straight. But it didn't work, obviously. When I would kiss girls, I remember that I would actually feel kind of nauseous."

"Wait seriously?" He asked.

"Yeah, seriously." I said, "The only way I got through kissing Daria without throwing up was because I was imagining it was you. Why do you ask? What's bringing this on?"

"It's kind of embarrassing." Jude said, "I was... at the mall with Mariana on Saturday. And I uh, was going to the food court to get some mozzarella sticks from that place we like. You know, the one that puts that special spice in the marinara sauce that you took me to for our anniversary that year?"

"Yeah, I remember." I confirmed.

"Anyway. I sat down to eat and wait for Mariana, and I started checking people out." He said.

I nodded. We both did it. When we went to the mall together we made a sport of it, rating guys and checking them out. It was all in good fun. We knew that we only had eyes for each other, so it was harmless fun.

"I didn't even... I didn't even notice at first, but... I started checking out girls, as well as guys." Jude continued, "And all weekend after that, I was confused. I've never noticed girls before, so why am I now? It's like everything I thought I knew about myself, has been flipped on its head."

I nodded gently, and put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to me. He leaned his head on my shoulder and sighed.

"Why didn't you come and tell me, Juju? Or Danny? Or Harry?" I asked, "We would have helped you think it out."

"Well, I didn't want you guys to think I was weird." Jude said sheepishly.

"Jude... baby, it's not being weird, it's called being Bisexual." I tell him gently.

He looks at me weird.

"Huh? What does that mean?" He asks me.

"Wait, what?" I said confused, "You've never heard of that before?"

Jude shook his head in the negative.

"Jude, it's what the 'B' in LGBTQ stands for." I explain, "It means you are attracted to guys and girls at the same time."

"Oh." Jude said.

"Yeah. It happens." I said softly, "It's nothing to freak out over. It's not a bad thing, Juju. As for why you never noticed it until now, maybe you just lean more towards guys, and never saw a girl that was good looking enough to peak your interest. Everybody is different when it comes to these things. Like me? I've never been attracted to girls in any way, shape or form. I'm as gay as they come without being a stereotype."

Jude nodded slowly.

"And it's not as uncommon as you'd think." I continued, "Lots of famous people are bisexual. Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, and Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day are bisexual. Pete Townshend from the Who and Angelina Jolie are too, I think."

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, Really." I confirmed, "Didn't Stef and Lena explain any of this to you when we started going out?"

"They asked me if I had any questions about it, but I said no." He answered, "Maybe we should talk to them about this. If I'm confused, they might be able to help."

"Sounds like a plan." I agreed.

"What would I do without you?" He asked. I smile and place a kiss against his head.

"You'd be fine." I said lovingly, "Come on, let's go."

We both hopped in my Suburban and drove to his house. I parked in the driveway and turned to him. He was staring out the window.

"We're here. Looks like Lena beat us here, like usual." I tell him. He hops out of the car. And walks to the front door. He waits for me to catch up, and we both go inside.

"HEY, MOMS? YOU GUYS HOME?" Jude shouts.

"WE'RE IN THE KITCHEN!"

Stef and Lena are sitting at the table, eating a couple of sandwiches.

"Late lunch, I'm guessing?" I ask.

"Yep. Didn't get to eat lunch today." Lena answered, "Couple of students got into a food fight at lunch, and I spent the whole lunch period dealing with it."

Jude and I shared a look, because we both knew that Harry and Danny had been involved in said food fight. We neglected to mention that, however.

"Can, uh... Can we talk?" Jude asked. Stef and Lena noticed how seriously he said it, and immediately tensed.

"What's wrong, honey?" Lena asked.

Jude heaved a sigh, looking nervous. I took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"I, uh... I have some things I wanna ask." He said, now sounding calmer, "Things that I should've asked a long time ago, when Connor and I first got together. Things you guys offered to tell me."

"Oh. Okay, yeah. We'd be glad to help." Lena said, "What's wrong?"

"When Connor and I got together, I thought for sure that I was gay." Jude started, "I knew I liked guys, I knew I liked Connor. I know I went through my whole no labels thing, but I thought I knew what I was. But on Saturday, when I was at the mall with Mari... something happened, and..."

He took a deep breath, and gave his hand a squeeze.

"I think... I think I may be Bisexual." Jude said.

Stef and Lena looked at him with surprise clear on their faces, obviously not expecting Jude to say that.

"Are you sure?" Lena asked gently.

"Yeah. I think I am." He said. "I've been dwelling on it since then. I didn't even know the word for it until Connor said it while we were talking after school at our bench, and I realized how little I actually know about this kind of thing, and you two said that if I ever had any questions that I could come to you."

"Of course. What questions do you have?" Stef asked.

"Connor mentioned 'LGBTQ'. I'm assuming that it's an abbreviation for something?" He asked.

"Yeah, it stands for 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer'." I said before Lena and Stef got the chance.

Jude stared at me in horror at the last word,

"What?" I asked, confused at the look he was giving me.

"How could you say that word?" He asked angrily.

"What word? Queer?" I asked, to which he nodded, "Not everybody uses that word as an insult, Juju. Some people use it to say that they don't identify as gay, straight or bisexual."

"Oh. Okay." He said as he calmed immediately, "Um, what does transgender mean?"

Lena answered this time.

"It's basically what it's called when somebody is born as one thing, but feels like they are another."

Jude just looked confused.

"If you were born a boy, but you identify yourself as a girl, then you're transgender." I explained to him, "You remember Callie's friend Cole? He was born a girl, but he identifies as a boy. He's transgender."

He nodded his understanding.

"Okay, I think I get it." He said slowly.

"What exactly happened at the mall, anyway?" Lena asked.

"I was sitting in the food court, eating those mozzarella sticks that Connor and I like," He explained, "And there was this girl standing in line at the ice cream stand. She was... gorgeous. She had blond hair, and her body was... uh, well, you know what I mean. The kind of girl that Jesus would have drooled over. Mariana showed up a couple of minutes later and we went home. I dwelt on it all weekend, and I told Connor about it before we came home today."

"Are you gonna tell Harry and Danny about this?" Stef asked. Jude nodded.

"Yeah. I'll text them and tell them I need to talk to them, tell them to meet us at the diner." He said, "Can you tell B, Mari, and Callie for me while we're out? So I don't have to do this twice?"

They nodded, and both rose to wrap Jude in a dual hug.

"Mama sandwich." I joked to myself silently.

"Sure, sweetie." Stef said, "We love you."

"Love you too, moms." He said

Afterwards, Jude and I stood up and walked back out to the Suburban again, while Jude fired off a text to the others that he needed them to meet us at Callie's diner.

They must have been close, because Danny and Harry were already at the diner when we got there. We went inside and walked over to their table and sat down.

"Sup, guys." Jude said as he slid into the booth beside of me.

"It's about time you two got here." Danny said, "Jude's text sounded serious."

"Let's order first and then we'll talk." I said.

I ordered a cheeseburger with only cheese and ketchup and French fries. Jude ordered chicken tenders with fries and barbeque sauce. Danny and Harry weren't hungry for real food so they just ordered a slice of chocolate fudge cake and a vanilla milkshake apiece.

When the food arrived, Harry finally broached the subject.

"Okay so what did you need, Jude?" Harry asked.

"I need to tell you guys something." Jude said, "I just realized something, that I figured you guys, as my brothers, deserved to know." He said.

"Okay, what is it?" Danny asked.

"I'm bisexual."

Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Okay, didn't expect that." He said, "Hell, especially not from you. If I had to bet on any of us turning out to be Bi, it would have been Connor."

"That's cool though. Now I have somebody to check out chicks with." Harry joked, being the only other person in our quartet that was capable of an attraction to the fairer sex, "How did ya figure that out?" Harry asked.

"Oh, he caught himself checking some busty blond chick out at the mall on Saturday." I answered for Jude.

Danny and Harry started laughing.

"Oh that's too perfect." Harry said gleefully, "I applaud your taste, dear Judicorn."

Jude aimed a well place kick at Harry under the table for daring to utter his nickname. As Jude had said on innumerable occasions, only Mariana and I were allowed to call him that.

"Five bucks said he started drooling like he always does when he checks somebody out." Danny chuckled.

Jude glared at him.

"I do not drool." He said irritably.

"Yes you do. You do it every time you see me with my shirt off." I tease him. He snorts and smacks me on the shoulder.

"Shut up." He laughs.

We all ate our food, happily bantering back and forth. It was peaceful. Comfortable.

However, it didn't stay that way...

As we finished our food, I felt a chill go down my spine. As we were getting up to leave, the door to the diner opened.

I froze, and my face turned into a snarl. See this and sensing imminent trouble, the other three closed ranks around me.

In the door stood a tall woman, with brown hair, and the coldest blue eyes that could freeze water into ice. A woman I had wished I would never see again. A woman who had try to beat me the last time I saw here.

We made eye contact, and her eyes narrowed and she sneered.

"What a pity. If I had known the kind of sinful filth that dined here, I would have went somewhere else."

I growled at her.

This is one woman I can safely that Jude hated with every fiber of my being, and the only person. A woman who I knew Jude still had fantasies of drowning in pools of sulfuric acid, or bashing her face in with a shovel, or driving a giant ten ton bulldozer over her screaming body. A woman who I once cared deeply for, but now only felt cold contempt for.

"Hello... mother." I snarled.

**Danny's POV:**

My eyes widened when I heard Connor growl those two words.

"Oh shit." I muttered and shared a quick look and nod with Harry.

Harry immediately grabbed a hold of his shoulder to prevent the possibility of Connor leaping on her and clawing her eyes out. We both knew that there was only one person on the planet that Connor absolutely despised, and that was Danielle Stevens. Unlike Harry, I had actually heard the story of the time that she caught Jude and Connor cuddling and had tried to beat Connor, only to be stopped by a sword and pistol wielding Adam Stevens and a knife wield Jude Adams Foster.

Connor was glaring at her with a look that promised a painful death, involving flames and repeatedly smashing a heavy blunt object into her head.

But the thing that surprised me the most was Jude.

He looked... well, he looked evil to be perfectly honest.

The look on his face was so filled with hatred, anger, fury, and rage, that I expected his eyes to turn gold like the Sith in Star Wars. It was not a look that belonged on his face. His usually kind eyes displaying a deep loathing, and broadcasting that the only thing that would make him happy would be to draw his knife and replace it in her eye socket.

I knew that if it came to blows, it would take more than Harry and I to hold the two back. Harry sensed this too, and mimed typing with his free hand. Nodding at his line of thinking, I produced my phone, and snapped of a text to Connor's dad.

"Connor's Mom is at the diner. Hurry before it gets messy." The text said.

"Enjoying the day out before fucking the boy toy are we?" She sneered.

Okay, now I see why they hate her. Connor clenched his fists, and I could see Harry's eye twitch which meant that his temper was boiling.

"I'm surprised you're out in public." Jude spat back venomously, "I thought vampires couldn't go outside when the sun was out?"

"Coming from a couple of blood sucking queers? That's rich." She sneered.

"Can't even make a full comeback of your own? Got to recycle part of mine?" Jude snarled, looking thoroughly deranged, "If you wanted a good comeback, all you'd have to do is wipe it off your moms chin!"

I choked on air at hearing that and Connor, Harry and I all stared at Jude in disbelief. I knew Jude had a temper on him that he kept under iron lock and key, but _damn!_

"Watch your mouth, you filthy, sinful little faggot." She screeched.

"If I ate a bowl of alphabet soup, I could shit a better comeback that that." Connor threw back at her in a deadpan voice after snapping out of staring at Jude like he'd grown a third head, "What's it like to have a brain that feels as good as brand new? Since it's obvious you never use it."

I snorted. I had almost forgot how sassy Connor could get.

"Besides, only two of us are gay, you bigoted, loathsome, medieval, pubic lice infested cunt." Harry said as he entering the verbal melee, "I'm pansexual and Jude is bisexual."

"Oh great. He's even more of a pervert than I thought." She sneered, "People like you should have been drowned at birth."

Oh shit, that was the wrong thing to say bitch.

It was legendary at this point just how protective Connor is when it comes to Jude. Anybody who threatens Jude's safety, or his life, suffered dire consequences that Connor always ropes me, Harry and most of Jude's siblings into planning and executing.

But saying that Jude should have been drowned at birth? That's going way too far, and I do not regret releasing his shoulder as Connor snapped. He reached around and snatched Jude's knife from its holster on his right hip. He broke free from Harry's grip and advanced. He slashed out with it, barely missing his target.

"CONNOR DON'T!" Jude screeched, the three of us leaping forward to nearly tackle him and pull him back.

"If I EVER!" He screamed, "HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT MY FIANCE LIKE THAT AGAIN, I WILL FEED YOU YOUR SMALL FUCKING INTESTINE!"

Her face turned a interesting shade of purple when she heard the word 'fiancé'.

"You are MARRYING this demon spawn?" She screeched.

I clutched my ears to shield them from the unholy sound.

"Of for fuck sake, bitch. Will you stop FUCKING SCREECHING?" I shouted.

"Yeah I am. I'm marrying him in November." Connor said smugly, savoring the displeasure radiating off of the demented woman.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." She sneered.

"Well I guess it's good that YOU DON'T GET A FUCKING SAY THEN, ISN'T IT?" Connor screamed at her, "We'll both be eighteen by then. You won't be able to stop me."

"Shouldn't you be getting home? I bet Satan is worrying about where his lapdog is." Jude interjected, the pitch of his voice warped by hatred, "Tell me, have you met Hitler down there yet? I suspect you must get along with him great. But you have three ways with him and Eva every other day, huh?"

Jesus Christ, Jude.

"Watch your back, you filthy abomination. It'd be a pity if you suffered an... accident before your filthy faggot wedding."

"Well, well. Look who's here." A voice said from behind her.

A soft click echoed through the diner, and a throat cleared. My eyes snapped up to meet Connor's dad, who was standing right behind Danielle, with a revolver drawn. His eyes were narrowed at her and filled with rage, and it was clear he'd heard the threat.

"Hello Danielle." He snarled and she tensed, and whipped around with her gaze meeting the barrel of a revolver placed right between her eyes, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you just threatened my son in law. I thought I told you never to go near my son again?"

"Adam." She said stiffly, "I had no idea these cretin were here. If I had I would have steered well clear."

"You're calling US cretin?" Harry said, astonished, "Why you fucking stuck up, bigoted, arrogant little bitch! The pot calling the cattle black springs to mind."

"That's enough boys. Let me take care of this." Adam commanded softly, before returning his gaze to Danielle, "We'll settle this the old fashioned way. The way dad used to."

He pulled a single bullet from his pocket and loaded it into the revolver, spinning the cylinder.

"We'll go by chance." He sneered.

Huh. Who knew Connor's dad had a taste for the theatrics? Maybe he and Connor are more alike than I always thought.

"A 50/50 chance of living or a .357 magnum round in the middle of your forehead."

He aimed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. All three of us closed our eyes, not wanting to see what was about to happen.

*Click*

I opened one eye to see Adam smirking evilly at his cowering ex wife.

"Get out. Next time, I might fill the cylinder. If I ever see you again... you know what'll happened."

Danielle fled the restaurant as if the hounds of hell itself were on her heals.

"Remind me never to piss the three of you off." Harry joked at Connor, Jude and Adam, "I didn't know Jude was capable of saying some of the things he had said.

Jude and Adam smirked, but Connor made no notice of my comment. He was staring out the door, shaking. The anger and hatred in his eyes evaporated and was replaced by a heartbreaking sadness. He let out a shaky breath, that turned to a shuddering sob. Jude and Adam wrapped him in a hug.

"It's okay, Connor," Adam whispered, "She's gone. We're okay. I know it hurts to hear her say those things. Let it out."

"If I ever see her again..." Connor sobbed, "I'm gonna kill her."

"Don't talk like that." Jude said sharply.

"SHE THREATENED YOU!" Connor shouted.

"I DON'T CARE! YOU DON'T STOOP TO HER LEVEL!" Jude shouted back, "Dammit Connor, you have to be smarter than that. FILE A RESTRAINING ORDER! Or, do what Callie did with Liam. Get her arrested."

"I just hate her so much," Connor croaked, "She's my mother. She's supposed to love me. WHY DOES SHE HATE ME SO FUCKING MUCH?"

"Because she's a spiteful, overly controlling, bigoted, arrogant, downright unpleasant, cruel woman who wouldn't recognize something good if it danced the tarantella naked in front of her?" Harry answered flippantly. We all looked at him funny, before snorting back a laugh.

That's one thing I loved about Harry, he could always be counted on to break the tension and lighten the mood.

"What did you just say?" Connor asked while he wiped his eyes, "I'll have to write that one down."

"Hey, it did its job." Harry said, "It got a laugh out of you."

"Glad you showed up when you did, Dad." Connor said, "That was about to get messy."

"Yeah, no kidding." Adam answered, "You might wanna think about getting security for the wedding."

Connor pulled out of the hug, and smirked at his dad.

"I can't believe you did that thing with the bullet." Connor said.

"Well it worked didn't it?" Adam said bluntly, "Besides, even if she had been unlucky enough, she wouldn't have been hurt. It was a blank."

Connor nodded with a laugh.

"I always knew I got my dramatic flair from you and not her." Connor joked, verbalizing my thought from a few minutes ago and causing me to snort.

"Alright, you three need to get out of here." Adam said, " The cops are probably already on their way. Connor, be home before dark."

"Okay dad." He said in response, and handed Jude his knife back.

We all left the diner and headed to Jude's place at a quick pace.

**Jude's POV:**

We all hid out at my place until Connor's dad sent us the all clear. The cops had arrived at the diner about thirty seconds after we had all left. We were all sitting at the table on the back porch, thinking about what an interesting day it had been.

"I can't believe her." Danny said quietly, "You both told me she was unpleasant. I never realized how little you were truly exaggerating."

"I've told you guys the story about how I got shot right?" Connor asked Danny and Harry.

"Yeah." They both said.

"I already know the story." I whispered to Harry.

"It took her a month to come and see if I was okay," He continued, "And when she did, she walked in on me and Jude cuddling on the couch. Tried to beat me. She got a few kicks in before Dad came in and threw a knife at her and threatened her with his old samurai sword. Then he gave the knife to Jude."

"I always wondered where he got that knife." Harry said.

"Yeah, he gave it to me as a peace offering." I said, "A show of acceptance of Connor's relationship with me. He made me promise that I'd protect Connor even if I had to use the knife to do it."

Connor's mouth quirked into a smile so small that it was barely visible, and it faded quickly into a look that made me nervous. It was a look he only wore when he was thinking deeply, which he usually only did when he was planning something.

"What are you planning Connor?" I asked bluntly.

He jumped and looked at me funny.

"What do you mean, Juju?" He asked, confused.

"You're planning something, I can tell. Spill." I said shortly.

Connor sighed and rubbed his eyes. I noticed that his eyes were full of worry.

"I'm not planning anything. I'm just worried. What if she tries something?" He asks shakily, "What if she tries to carry out her threat? I can't let you get hurt, Jude."

"Do you think she would?" Harry asked.

"SHE'S A PSYCHOTIC BITCH!" Connor shouted, "OF COURSE SHE WOULD!"

I slammed my clenched fist down on the table, and Connor flinched.

"That's enough!" I said sternly.

"No, it's not enough!" Connor shot back, "Since I came out, she's done nothing but try to ruin things for me! It'll be enough, when she's in fucking JAIL!"

"Connor, calm down!" Harry said worriedly.

Connor jumped out of his chair and started pacing. He started to go into a bit of a meltdown.

"I know what she'd do to me if she had the chance!" Connor continued ranting paying no mind to our pleas for it to cease, "I've heard it straight from her mouth! If she got a hold of Jude... there's no telling what she'd do!"

I could see my siblings standing at the back door watching. Callie, Mariana and Brandon all had murder in their eyes as she listened to Connor's rant. I had a sudden vision of Brandon strangling Danielle Stevens with a length of piano wire while Mariana and I force fed her a wide variety of nail polish and Callie wailed on her with a baseball bat.

I blinked at my thoughts. God, I'm demented sometimes. I turned back to Connor's rant.

"She never liked Jude, even back when we were just becoming friends! She would always make snide comments about how I shouldn't be friends with somebody who is, according to her, and I quote: a poor, broken, damaged runt of a boy who should have been drowned at birth!"

Okay. That hurt a bit, even if it had been true at the time. Well, minus the drowned at birth part.

It suddenly dawned on me just how good of an actress Mrs. Stevens was. I had met her before Connor's dad divorced her, and she had seemed pleasant towards me at the time.

"What do you suggest?" I ask.

"I'm not suggesting we kill her, or anything that extreme." Connor explained, "We just have to be careful. Watch our backs. And I think we should consider what dad said about hiring security for the wedding. Also, unless we are at school, I want you to carry your knife at all times."

I nodded, because I did that anyway.

"As long as you aren't planning something stupid, then I can agree to that." I said, narrowing my eyes, "You aren't planning something stupid, are you?"

He shook his head.

"No, I swear." He stated.

My mind drifted back to something Connor had just let slip.

"What did she say she would do to you?" I ask suddenly. Connor turned to me, his eyes full of tears of anger and sadness.

"After she found out about me and you, she tried to get custody of me back." Connor revealed.

"WHAT? You never told me that!" I exclaimed.

"I know, I didn't want to worry you." Connor said, "Anyway, she came over to the house the day after somebody arrived to serve dad the papers. Dad sent me upstairs, but I hid at the top of the stairs. I heard everything."

"What were they planning to do Connor?"

We all turned to see the siblings approaching us. It was Mariana who had spoke.

"Do you mind if we join you guys? We couldn't help but overhear," Callie continued, "We could hear Connor's shouting from upstairs."

Connor nodded, and they all sat down.

"She said that if she got custody of me, she was taking me away from California, and she was gonna..."

"Gonna what?" Harry asked, as he picked up his unopened can of Coke.

Connor stared at me.

"It's not important. She didn't get custody of me. The courts wouldn't even hear the case." He said, trying to avoid the subject, "That's done and over with."

"God dammit Connor, just tell us what the fuck she was gonna do!" I snapped, kind of irritated that he had hidden this from me for so long.

"She was... she was gonna send me to a conversion therapy camp." Connor whimpered.

Oh. Hell. No.

I leapt out of my chair and rushed to wrap him in a hug. Callie and Mariana gasped, while Danny and Brandon began swearing loudly. After twenty seconds, I heard a loud pop and a crunch and we all turned to look at Harry.

Harry had crushed the full, unopened soda can in his hands.

We all looked at him with wide eyes.

His eyes were wide, unfocused and wild. He was visibly trembling. His head made a violent twitching motion.

"Oh damn." I swore.

He was having an episode. Slowly, Connor and I made our way around the table to stand by Danny.

We had only seen Harry do this once before, and that one only lasted for a few moments, but this one... this one seemed worse.

"Harry?" Danny asked softly.

"nooo." Harry whispered shakily, shaking his head slowly.

"Harry?" Connor asked, reaching out and touching his shoulder.

Harry's eyes went even wider with panic, and he screamed. He shot out of his chair, tumbling to the ground. He crawled backwards and his back until his back was against the wall of the house. He fell onto his side and curled up into the fetal position, gasping for breath. He gripped his head and pulled at his hair. Danny ran to his side and rubbed his back slowly.

"Calm down, Harry. You need to calm down. You're gonna make yourself sick, love." Danny said to him calmly, trying to calm him down.

I shot Connor a troubled look, which he returned with a look of confusion. Danny pulled Harry into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around Harry's shivering form.

Ten minutes later, Harry started to calm down enough to speak coherent sentences.

"Help me to the chair." He whispered brokenly.

Danny picked him up and carried him back to his chair, bridal style. Connor and I returned to our chairs as well.

"You okay now?" I asked Harry.

"Sorry 'bout that." He muttered, staring at the table.

"You never have to apologize to us." Danny said gently, rubbing comforting circles on his back, "You know that."

"Why did you react so badly?" Connor asked.

Harry gave a dry chuckle. It was an alien sound to hear coming from him. It held none of its usual warmth, none of its usual humor, and none of its usual happiness. It held only hatred, sadness, and buried pain. He turned to look at Connor.

"You're so lucky, that you will never have to see the inside of one of those fucking camps." He said emotionlessly. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"One of us is enough."

Oh. Fuck. No.

"What did you just say?" I growled.

"That's why my step parents sent me out here in the first place. The place they sent me to didn't work." He said, with a very faint air of sadistic pleasure tinting his voice at the motion of pissing off his adoptive parents.

Danny stared at him in unconcealed horror.

"South Georgia Christian Camp for Boys." Harry droned, "Big place in the middle of the woods. Big building right in the center where everybody slept. A church about 200 yards away, and another building right next to that. It didn't look too suspicious, except of course for the cast iron fence that surrounded the place."

Everybody was looking at him with a varying degree of horror and sadness.

"You have no idea what they do in those places. The methods they used." Harry said, his voice slowly turning from a whimper to a snarl as he spoke, "They tried to do a fucking exorcism on me, to _cast out the homosexual demon that gripped my soul_. They tried hypnosis, the fucking imbeciles. They would force us to pray to god for deliverance for hours on end. When all else failed, they used electroconvulsive therapy on me."

Everybody gasped, but nobody stopped him from continuing. It was clear that he needed to get this out.

"Yeah. They would drag me out of bed at five in the morning and strap me into a chair, stick needles into my fingers, and they'd show me pictures of men in explicit positions while shocking me until I could barely form a coherent thought. It was meant to trick my brain into associating anything gay with everything evil and bad. Eventually I just started telling them what they wanted to hear, and they pronounced me cured. When I got home, I told my parents it didn't work, and the next day after a massive fight I'm on a plane to San Diego. And good fucking riddance to all of them."

Danny wrapped him in a hug, and it was obvious to all of us that he was just barely preventing his tears from falling.

"I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Harry told him, "None of you do. You guys have given me the family I deserve, and through Danny, I met my biological parents."

I gave us all a smile. I was comforted to see that it had some of its old warmth back, and that it didn't look as dead as it did minutes ago.

"Besides, I received some good news yesterday." Harry continued, "I will only have to go back to Georgia once, and then that chapter of my life is over."

"What do you mean?" I asked him curiously.

"Well, my adopted parents have effectively tortured me, then they basically abandoned me." Harry explained, "I told my biological parents what they did when I talked to them during our weekly Skype call. They are trying to get custody of me back, but in order to do that, they'll have to go to Georgia and get the abandonment papers signed. If everything works out, they told me they are gonna move here, and I'll be back with them by the time Spring Break starts next year."

"We'll go with you to Georgia." Danny promised fiercely.

I nodded my agreement.

"Hell yeah we will," Connor said, "I wanna give those bastards a piece of my mind."

"You don't plan on giving them too big a piece, I hope?" Harry joked softly, "Otherwise there won't be anything left for you to use."

We all chuckled softly. If Harry was okay enough to make a joke out Connor's mental wellbeing, then he was gonna be fine.

Or at least I hoped it would be.

We've all been through a lot in our short time on this Earth. Jude had been through the ringer in foster care. I'd been shot. Danny lost his oldest friend and beloved to the jaws of death because of cancer. Danny, Jude and I were involved in a deadly brawl, and Harry had to face being forced through conversion therapy. Too much. I don't know if any of us could handle another big loss or shock. Especially Danny or Harry. We'd all finally gotten to a place in our lives where everything seems to be looking up and going right. Jude and I are getting married in November. Danny and Harry are together and happy. Harry is on the verge of getting his real family back. Everything was going well. The only possible thorn in our side was my mother and the O'Reillys. I fear what might happen if they did something to ruin everything.

One thing is all it would take, and I think all of us are aware of that. And I fear, that if the worst does come to pass, it will be the death of us.


	16. The Wedding

Jude's POV.

Today was November 18th, 2018.

The day had finally arrived.

Today was the wedding.

Connor and I were getting married today.

Connor and I were getting MARRIED TODAY!

The day I've dreamed of for years has finally arrived, and I've been trying to do up my bowtie for twenty minutes, but I swear to whatever deity exists that the thrice damned thing is trying to kill me. Every time I retie it, it nearly chokes me, and it is taking everything I have not to set it on fire.

I'm honestly about to have a heart attack from a combination of irritation, nerves and excitement, and I'm so absorbed in what I was doing that a knock on the door startles me. I whirl around, and snap at the door.

"WHAT?"

The door opens and Brandon cautiously steps in, looking concerned. I sigh in relief at the sight of my brother, who I know for a fact has no trouble doing up a bowtie.

"Thank god! Can you give me some help with this fucking tie?" I screech helplessly.

"You're so lucky moms didn't hear you say that." He chuckled as we turned back to the mirror and he began fixing my tie.

I glared at him. It had no effect on him whatsoever. Over the years, my glare had lost nearly all affect on my siblings, something that irritates me to this day.

"Well, can you blame me for being nervous, bro?" I asked, "I mean... I'm getting married! The ceremony starts in ten minutes, and I'm still not dressed, and Connor, Adam and Harry are not even here yet! What if Connor changed his mind? What if he's backing out on the wedding?"

"Trust me, Connor is not backing out of the wedding, Jude." A voice behind me said.

I whip around, again, to see Adam standing in the doorway, already in his charcoal black suit. He has a look of irritation on his face.

"He's in another room. Danny's helping him with getting ready." Adam said, "He's practically leaping out of his skin right now. I've never seen him so happy, so don't worry."

"Sorry... It's just... you were supposed to be here like an hour ago, and I thought..." I stammered.

"Oh trust me, we would have been here a lot sooner," Adam said, taking a step further into the room and running his hand through his hair, "We just ran into some familiar trouble along the way."

"Let me guess? Connor's mother?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yep." Another voice immediately to my left said directly into my ear.

I jump again, startled. As was his loathsome habit, Harry had appeared at my side, seemingly from out of thin air. I whirled on him and slapped him on the back of the head.

"How many times," I ground out, "Have I warned you about doing that?"

"Lost track at about a hundred fifty to be perfectly honest." Harry said, "Bitch ambushed us right as we were leaving Connor's place to come here."

"And you couldn't have left her in the dust?" I asked irritably.

"Oh, we would have, if it weren't for the whole pack of people with her carrying picket signs." Harry deadpanned.

"You're fucking kidding me. Right?" Brandon asked, disgusted.

"Dead serious, B." Harry said, his voice barely disguising his anger at Connor's mother, "They'd probably be outside the church in a few minutes, if Danny hadn't used some, uh... Aggressive negotiations."

"What kind of aggressive negotiations?" I asked.

"He pulled his sword cane and threatened to disembowel them and sent them all running." Adam deadpanned, "Remind me never to piss that kid off. If he can send a whole mob of people running, I'd hate to see what he could do to just one person."

"Oh, you have no idea, Adam." I muttered, "Absolutely no idea."

"Does kind of make me glad that we decided to have the wedding indoors instead of on the beach." Harry said.

"It's too cold for that." I muttered as I stared into the mirror.

Just then, Lena poked her head into the room.

"It's time, guys. Everybody is in place." She said, her voice breaking from the emotion the statement held, "Everything is set. I'm going to walk you down the aisle. You ready for this, Jude?"

I drew a deep breath and nodded. We all walked out of the room towards the front hallway. Everybody else but me and Lena went in and took their places.

Momma turned to me and drew me into a gentle hug.

"I'm so proud of you, bubba." She whispered into my hair, "I can't believe my baby's getting married."

I smiled into her shoulder.

"I couldn't be happier for you, sweetie." Lena said softly, "You got lucky with Connor. I know I'm leaving you in the best hands possible."

The music started and we turned to the doors.

"Let's do this." I whispered.

We passed through the doors.

My eyes immediately found Connor, and I was rendered speechless. He was absolutely gorgeous. He was standing there at the altar, smiling at me with a million watt smile, dressed in a black suit with a indigo blue bowtie that matched the color of our fingernails. As soon as I saw him, he was the only thing that existed in my world.

My eye's didn't leave his, and as I reached him, I stared into them.

I got lost in them, to the point where that was all that existed in my world. The soft hazel oceans that acted as the windows to his soul. I peered through the windows and lost myself completely.

I couldn't hear the minister talking, and I couldn't hear my family crying in the pews, all that existed was the sea of hazel brown that were Connor's eyes. We were so lost in each other's eyes that we lost all sense of time, all sense of the outside world, all sense of anything besides one another.

"Will the best men please present the rings?" The minister finally said.

Danny stepped beside me and handed me the silver wedding band I had entrusted him with, snapping Connor and I out of our dazes. I could see the tears streaking down his face as he gave me a tight hug, and I returned it fiercely.

"I'm so proud of you, my bràthair." Danny muttered into my ear.

I knew from previous explanation that bràthair was brother in Scottish Gaelic.

Harry did the same with Connor, handing him the ring and giving him a hug before taking their respective places at our sides.

"The couple have written their own vows, which they will now recite to each other." The minister said.

I turned to Connor and gazed into his eyes again. In his eyes, which shined with tears of joy, I saw reflected memories of our time together.

I saw the kind face of a boy who offered friendship to a broken foster child he had never met before. I saw our early friendship. I saw the kiss in the tent. I saw us becoming _us_. I saw Us meeting Danny. I saw our breakup and us getting back together. I saw us making love for the first time. I saw him proposing. I saw everything.

I also saw the times that were yet to come. I saw our future together. College. I saw the possibility of having children. I saw myself waking up in his arms every single night for the next eighty years.

I drew a shaky breath, and prepared to recite my vows. I knew that my vows were gonna be longer than his.

"Connor... I can hardly believe that we are standing where we are today. Today, is my eighteenth birthday. My wedding day. The day where I marry my soul mate. We had to fight to get here, you and I. It wasn't easy. It never will be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is, and you are more worthwhile than anything in the world."

I wiped a tear away and continued.

"I have loved you, since the very first second we met. When you extended a hand of friendship with an act of kindness towards a small, downtrodden, abused little boy who you'd never met before in your entire life."

I reached out and grabbed his hand in mine.

"I loved you from the very start." I continued, "First as a best friend, until it became so much more than that when you kissed me in the tent on that camping trip five years ago. Even if you took your sweet time with unraveling your feelings... You were worth waiting for."

Connor choked out a watery laugh, and his smile widened to the point where it was almost cartoonish. I reached out and grabbed his hand before continuing.

"I have so many people to be thankful towards for getting me here. For getting US here. First among which are our best men. Without Danny, I would have died years ago, in the parking lot of a shopping mall while you were inside oblivious. Without Harry, your mother would be gate crashing the wedding. Another person I have to thank is your dad. Sometimes I marvel at how far he's come. He was once the biggest obstacle in our path towards each other, now he's the bulldozer that clears the path for us."

Everybody chuckled at that bit.

"You are so many of my firsts, Connor. My first true friend My first confidant outside of my family. My first crush. My first kiss. My first boyfriend. My first love. You're also the first person besides Callie that I have ever had to fight for... and I will continue to fight for you for the rest of my days."

I caressed his hand in mine, before grinning widely into his eyes.

"In a matter of moments, you will be my husband, and I cannot tell you how happy I am that it is true. I love you, Connor Stevens, and it is undying, unending, and I look forward to sharing every day of our long lives with you. With this ring, I make you that promise."

Connor was weeping at this point, as I slid the ring onto his finger. He pulled a handkerchief out of his suit jacket pocket and wiped his eyes.

"Umm." He managed with a laugh, "That's gonna be hard to follow."

I laughed.

"Honestly? What needs to be said that hasn't already been said?" Connor said, smiling softly at me, "Jude... you give me a reason to live. You give me the courage to be myself, in a world that didn't want the same thing. When I first met you, I was scared, confused, lonely and tired. When I met you, six years ago... I didn't see some broken down, abused, shattered little boy. I saw what few others bothered to dig to see. I saw something special."

He reached out and took my hand again, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"I knew, that you were somebody I had to know." He said lovingly, "Somebody that I had to be friends with. Somebody that I had to have in my life forever. I just didn't realize at the time that I was falling in love with you."

He caressed my hand.

"I love every single thing about you, Juju. I love your laugh, and the way that your eyes shine when you giggle and smile. It is a mission in life to ensure that you smile as much as it is possible for you to smile. I love the fact that after dating for five years, there are still things about that you that surprise me. I hope that never changes. Even when we're both old and grey, I hope we never stop finding new things about the other to love. I love the fact that I literally cannot live without you. I love that I can't go a single day without seeing you, and without hearing your laugh and kissing your beautiful face, and I am overjoyed that I will never have to suffer through the nightmare of not being yours."

I could hear several people in the crowd start awwing when he said that. I could just barely restrain myself from lunging forward and kissing him senseless.

"I look forward to living my life with you, and this ring is my promise." He said, "You are my soul mate, Juju, and I am the luckiest man on the face of the Earth to have found you so young, at only thirteen years old. I swear on my life that I will never let you go. I will fight till the very last breath that leaves my lungs to keep you safe, at my side, as a husband should."

He shakily slid the ring onto my shaking finger.

"Do you, Jude Jacob Adams Foster, take this man, Connor Alexander Stevens, to be your lawful wedded husband?" The minister asked.

"I do."

"Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

The minister turned to Connor.

"Do you, Connor Alexander Stevens, take this man, Jude Jacob Adams Foster, to be your lawful wedded husband?"

"I do." Connor said, his smile so wide he could barely talk.

"Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," He looked me in the eyes, "Always, until my dying breath."

"Then with the power vested in me by the state of California, and almighty God, I pronounce you husband and... uh, husband. Congratulations. You may now kiss the groom."

We didn't need to be told twice.

I drew him close and our lips met.

It never ceases to take my breath away, kissing Connor. But this kiss was different, just like the kiss in the tent, and the kiss in my bedroom, and our first actual kiss as a couple were different. This kiss was the start of something new.

It was more special, just like all future kisses would be. For the first time, I was kissing Connor as my husband. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me off my feet, spinning on the spot, twirling me around in a circle before sitting me back on my feet and hugging me to him.

Everybody in the church leapt to their feet and began applauding as Connor held me in his arms, and we continued to kiss. When we separated, we looked around at all the faces. My moms and siblings were all screaming in happiness, tears streaming down their faces. My dad and Adam were both crying too, and Adam gave us both a thumbs up when we made eye contact.

Suddenly, I felt a warmth descend over me, and I would never be able to explain what happened next. I looked at the door of the church and saw a man standing there. A man I hadn't seen in years, but recognized immediately. He was dressed completely in white, and he was smiling at me. He gave me a thumbs up.

"I'm so proud of you little brother." His voice spoke into my ear, "I love you."

I stared straight at him, and I looked at Connor with tears in my eyes. When I looked back towards the door... Jesus was gone.

"What's wrong, Jude?" Connor asked.

"Next to the door... I swear to god I just saw Jesus." I whimpered, "I heard him. He said he was proud of me, and that he loved me. He was here, C-Connor."

Connor wrapped me in a gentle embrace.

"I believe you." He said, "I felt it too."

This was only the beginning of the rest of our lives. Millions of things lay ahead, millions of experiences that Connor and I will share.

Whatever the future held, we both knew that we would face it together.


	17. Georgia

Connor's POV:

"Attention Passengers, we are making our final approach to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. We will begin our final descent momentarily."

It's mid June now and I honestly don't think things could be going any better.

On December 3rd, 2018, it was Danny's and Harry's eighteenth birthday. On that day, Harry officially became an adult, freeing himself of any ties to his adopted family, and he filed to have his name changed. After it was approved, he was no longer an O'Reilly. He changed his name back to his birth name, Harrison Jackson Kennedy. The only reason we are going back to Georgia now is because he wants to confront his adopted parents for their treatment of him.

It's been seven months since I married Jude. Seven months since he became my husband. We've both graduated from high school at that top of our class, and have plans to go to college together. Both have us were on the honor roll, and I have a full scholarship, while Jude has a partial scholarship. Jude is studying to become a teacher, while my plans are more ambitious. I plan to become a doctor and a surgeon. We both know that this will take a metric ton of time and money, but we will accomplish it. Danny isn't going to college, instead choosing to form a band and trying to make it that way. Harry was going to college with us to study English, with aspirations of being a published author someday.

I stared down at my new drivers license with a sense of pride and accomplishment, reviewing silently in my head Jude and my plans for our future. Since Jude and I got married, we had to get new drivers licenses that had our married names on them. I couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of happiness that swelled in my chest as I stared at my new legal name.

Connor Adams Foster Stevens.

I smiled widely.

"Staring at your license again?"

I look beside me, to see Jude staring at me.

"Finally woke back up, huh?" I joke with a smirk.

Jude, Danny and Harry had been asleep almost as soon as the plane took off from San Diego. I had spent the majority of the flight alternating between napping, and listening to music and playing games on my phone. I could never sleep for very long on a plane because of anxiety. Stef and Lena spent most of their time leeching the plane's Wi-Fi, which I admit I did quite a bit as well.

"Don't dodge the question," He snarked back with a relaxed grin, "I told you I would sleep through most of the flight."

"Yeah. And yes, I am staring at it again. I can't help it." I grinned goofily, "It's still a bit of a thrill to see them say Connor Adams-Foster Stevens and Jude Adams Foster Stevens instead of Connor Alexander Stevens and Jude Jacob Adams Foster."

"Not nearly as much as I like hearing you say it aloud." Jude purred.

Oh, _damn_ that's sexy.

"Are moms still asleep?" I asked him.

He peaked behind him. He turned back to me.

"Yeah, but they won't be for long." He said.

"Ever heard of the mile high club?" I asked him, only partially kidding.

He gave me an EPIC bitch face. And by epic, I mean a once in a life time epic bitch face.

"Yeah, no. Absolutely not." He deadpanned, "You may be my husband, but I still have to maintain at least some of my dignity..."

"Oh come on, I was just kidding." I apologize. He smirks at me and raises an eyebrow, "Okay, maybe I was a little serious."

"As tempting as the thought is," He sighed, "I don't think I could bear the quantity of smugness that Danny and Harry would exude if we actually fucked in the bathroom."

I stared at him.

"I knew flying makes you weird, but you swearing like that isn't helping me not want to drag you into the bathroom and bend you over the sink..."

"Oh fuck, what did I just wake up and overhear?" A voice interjected sarcastically.

We turn to see Danny staring at us from his seat across the aisle, smirking.

"Nothing." I said quickly trying to cover our tracks while trying not to blush to heavily.

It obviously didn't work, because Danny's smirk widened.

"Uh huh." He said, unconvinced, "Anyway, what's the plan for when we land?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are already in Atlanta, and they're gonna pick us up straight from the airport. Then they are gonna take us straight to the O'Reilly's place. If all goes well, we should be on a flight back to San Diego by tomorrow night..."

"Yeah but you're not taking our bad luck into account." Jude interjected, "Since when does anything with us ever go to plan?"

"Never." Harry interjected from beside Danny.

"Hey, look who's awake." Danny said, leaning over to give him a kiss, "Those pricks are gonna have a coronary when we show up."

"Three same sex couples, two of which are married, the third of which is the adopted son they abandoned and his boyfriend? Oh, believe me, I'm counting on it." Harry snarled with barely concealed glee.

The plane landed without incident, and within the hour, we were standing at baggage claim to receive our luggage. One trip to the lost luggage department, and one extremely pissed off Jude later, we were walking toward the exit, where we saw Harry's birth parents standing there waiting for us. Harry approached them first, offering a shy smile and a small wave.

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy were having none of that, as they both lunged forward and wrapped their son in a hug.

After meeting them for the first time, Harry had been exchanging Skype calls with his birth parents every night. He wanted to get to know them, and they wanted to be the parents that Harry had always deserved but never received. About a month after mine and Jude's wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy moved to San Diego to be closer to Harry, and begun the process of regaining custody of Harry. It was on my suggestion to just wait until after Harry turned 18, because then the O'Reillys wouldn't matter.

The day the Kennedy's arrived in San Diego, Harry immediately left his step uncles house, much to his step uncles delight, and moved in with them. It was not a pleasant day according to Danny and Harry because of Harry's step uncle. Danny ended up swinging at him with his sword before being dragged out of the house by Harry. The process was almost complete, and all that stood in their way was the fact that the O'Reilly's needed to sign a few papers.

Harry hugged his parents back after a seconds hesitation.

"Hey Mom." He whispered, "Hey Dad."

They both smiled and gripped him harder. I was a bit surprised too. It was, as far as I know, the first time Harry had ever called them mom and dad.

After standing there hugging for a few more moments, they pulled out and Danny lumbered forth.

"Hey Uncle, Auntie." He said, wrapping them both in a hug of his own.

After introductions were made, they led us to the waiting SUV.

The ride to the O'Reilly's house took three hours and ten minutes with the amount of traffic in Atlanta. The entire ride there, nobody said a word. The only sound in the car was the sound of the music that Harry had playing on the radio. He had his iPod hooked up via USB cable, and Jude and I both noticed that the closer we got to our destination, the more violent the music, and Harry's trembling, became.

When we left the airport, is was playing some country music that made Jude cringe. By the time we left Atlanta, it had changed to Led Zeppelin, then AC/DC. When we were about halfway there, it had been switched to Guns N' Roses. Three quarters of the way there, and it was playing Anthrax. When we pulled into the town where Harry's former home was located and started down the high street, he had switched it play "Angel of Death" by Slayer.

Funny how preparing to face down his almost cartoonish homophobic abandoning adoptive parents makes Harry want to listen to a song about the specific crimes of a Nazi war criminal.

When we pulled up in front of the house, he turned it to a different song. "From Skin To Liquid" by Cannibal Corpse started playing.

"Okay that's e-fucking-nough of that shit." Jude snapped over the music, and unbuckled his seatbelt and reached up and yanked the USB cable out of the radio, "AC/DC's fine, Led Zeppelin is fantastic, Slayer is just BARELY tolerable, but I draw the line at that death metal shit."

Harry wisely held his tongue, electing not to make his customary snark about Jude being a Thrash Metal and Hard Rock purist.

I looked up at the house.

"What a dump." Lena said from behind us.

She wasn't kidding.

It was hard to believe the place was occupied by a life form that didn't come in the form of insects and other such vermin. The roof was missing half of its shingles and there was a hole that was boarded up sloppily, the front screen door was missing it's screens, and the shutters on the windows were all hanging on by single screws. One of the front windows was shattered. The paint was peeling, and the plastic siding was falling off the walls.

Yep. Dump pretty much sums it up.

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy stared at the building in horror.

"You lived here?" Mrs. Kennedy screeched, "Was it always this shite looking?"

"It used to be worse." Harry admitted, shaking like a leaf and twitching violently, "The place didn't have any front windows the last time I saw it, now there is one."

"You okay, love?" Danny asked him.

"No, but we won't be here long so don't worry about it." Harry said shakily, "The last time I was here, my adopted dad tried to burn my hand on the stove, and my adopted mom tried to wail on my head with a soapy frying pan. Since the camp didn't work, they were gonna try to burn and beat it out of me, but I fought back and they sent me to San Diego. I don't know how I'm gonna react to seeing them again, so if I start to break, get me out of here."

We all nod at his wishes.

We all get out of the SUV and slowly approach the door.

The first thing that hits me is the unmistakable skunk like stench of freshly smoked marijuana, and the smell of booze that was thick in the air. It was followed by the smell of rotting food, and what smelled like urine and feces.

We all peek in the shattered window. It looked like the aftermath of a 1986 Guns N' Roses party. The inside of the house was even worse than the outside. The walls were caked with gunk and dust and there were several large holes, and there was garbage strew everywhere. Half eaten pizzas that were at least three days old sat open on the cracked coffee table and smelled awful. The sofa and loveseat were both overturned, and the bottom of the sofa was ripped out. On top of the coffee table was a Tupperware bowl, filled to the brim with white powder, that I presumed was cocaine. There were hundreds of empty beer bottles on the floor... and the tables... and the TV stand. Everywhere. Next to the kitchen entrance sat a large bucket that was overflowing with bottle caps. I snorted.

If this was Fallout, these people would be rich.

"Jesus." Jude whispered, his voice thick with disgust and revulsion.

Harry's foster father is laying passed out in a chair, with a lit joint in one hand, and a half empty bottle of beer in the other. His wife beater tank top was obviously once white, but now it was stained brown and yellow and was ragged with several holes. His jeans were ripped on both knees and were caked with dirt and grime, as was every exposed bit of skin. His hair was matted, and he was very still. It was as if the man had never before heard of the concept of taking a shower.

"Good god, that's repulsive." Danny said disgustedly, "Is he even breathing?"

"Wouldn't it be great if he just died while we stood here?" Harry snarked malevolently, "Hell, maybe he already is dead."

The lump of lard in the chair snorted.

"Dammit, no such luck." Harry growled.

He stalked forward. Danny and I stood at his sides, while Jude covered his back.

Harry delivered a high stomp right to the man's testicles. Mr. O'Rielly awoke with a screech and slipped out of the chair to lay on the floor, clutching his bruised jewels. Harry leant down and stared right into his face.

"Guess who's back, you imbecilic ape?" He snarled. Mr. O'Reilly's face paled as Harry released a high, cold, almost Joker-esque laugh.

The filth quickly recovered.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He snarled.

"Oh, believe me." Harry snarled right back, before kicking the slime in the stomach, "I have no intention of staying for very long. I'll say what I have to say and then I'll be out of your lives for good. Where's the witch?"

Mr. O'Reilly pointed to the ceiling.

"Of course the hag is still asleep at 5:00 in the fucking afternoon. No sense of manners. GO GET HER!" Harry thundered. The pitiful excuse for a man leapt to do as he was told. Almost immediately, I smelt the distinct smell of urine and feces.

"You made him piss and shit himself at the same time." Danny stated.

"Yes, indeed I did." Harry confirmed, "I guess potty training didn't take."

Danny exchanged a twenty dollar bill with Harry.

"Nice one." Danny commented. Harry nodded.

"Thank you." He said.

Not two seconds later, both components of the dirt bag couple stomped down the stairs, glaring at us.

Jesus Christ, and I thought my mom was bad. She's like Mother Theresa compared to this vile waste of blood and organs.

"I have something I need to say, and then I'm gone for good." Harry said angrily, "You thought you could break me, but you failed. I won. You all lost. I've finally got the family I deserve. I'm not alone anymore. These are my real parents. This is my boyfriend Danny, he knew and dated my brother Gideon, took care of him while he was dying. That's Jude and Connor, my best friends. They're married. That's Jude's moms, Stef and Lena. These are all my family."

Harry took a step forward.

"You were never my family." He snarled, "You treated me like dirt from the time I learnt to walk. Hitting me, calling me names, sending me to that fucking camp. You don't deserve to call yourselves parents. You will both rot in hell for what you put me through."

Harry took a calming breath.

"All I have left to say… is thank you."

We all looked at him weirdly.

"If you hadn't sent me to San Diego, I wouldn't have any of this." Harry said, "Your plan? It fucking backfired fabulously. I have a family, and I am happy. You? You've got your rundown little shack, your booze, your coke, and nothing else. So good riddance. Have a nice life, and stay the fuck away from me and out of mine."

Harry turned and marched out of the house, and we all turned and left without a word.

Stef got in the driver seat, and Lena got shotgun. In the second row, Jude and I sat cuddled up against each other, taking comfort from each other's physical contact. In the back row, Harry, Danny and Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy sat. The adults had their arms wrapped around the two boys.

Harry started to sob, but the sobs turned to squealing laughter as he hugged his parents.

"It's f-f-f-FINALLY OVER!" He screeched.

Danny moved forward to place a hand on Harry's back, and Harry turned and tackled Danny to the ground in a hug. Something fell out of Harry's coat pocket and it lay on the ground open.

Danny and Harry's gaze both locked on it, and Danny's eyes widened as he stared at it.

Harry reached out and grabbed it, before kneeling in front of Danny and taking his hands into his own.

"Danny. You've been there for me, and I can safely say that I love you more than anything." Harry said, "I bought this a month ago, and have been trying to find the perfect time. Here, now, in front of my real family, and our brothers, this is the perfect time. The perfect moment."

He opened the small box and revealed a small ring. It was silver, and was set with a single diamond.

Harry held it in front of Danny, shaking like a leaf.

"Daniel Evans, will you marry me?"

Danny's composure collapsed as soon as the words left Harry's mouth, With a shriek, Danny launched himself back into Harry's arms, nodding into his shoulder as he started to cry.

I felt an arm wrap around my waist as Jude laid his head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and placed a kiss on my husband's head as we stood there, sharing this moment with our two best friends. It felt good to be sharing something besides grief with our family. Jude and I were married, Danny and Harry were engaged, and we all had a bright future ahead of us all.

But that's what we've always done, us.

And that's what we would always do.

We were a united front, and we'd always share the burden.

Always.


End file.
